noun
bounty
BOUN-tee/ˈbaʊnti/
A payment offered for achieving a desired result.
The volunteer receives a bounty for returning the owner's missing dog.
Etymology
Originally “goodness,” bounty came to mean generosity and a freely bestowed gift. Gifts from a sovereign or state developed into payments offered to encourage service or reward a capture.
In context
A bounty to catch Booth grows. As you can see, it was a $100,000 reward for the murderer of President Abraham Lincoln is still at large.
More examples
- A reward notice announced a bounty for the fugitive's capture.
- The researcher claimed the security bounty.
- They increased the bounty when the search stalled.
Forms
bounty · bounties
Similar words
- prize
- A prize rewards winning or achievement; a bounty is offered for producing a specified result.