prize fight
3
3.9
- noun
- /praɪz faɪt/
- Archaic
:
pelea de premios
- "Radio audiences could also be part of events that Chautauqua could never bring them, events as diverse as presidential elections, inaugurals, and prize fights.
Examples
-
Every kid who grows up in the smelter smoke of Butte dreams of just two things: prize fights and beautiful women.
Fiction book (1990) -
He's going to set me up with a prize fight with a purse big enough I can pay my debt, keep the shop, maybe even have a little left over to pay for college.
-
Prize fight Sunday morning, Wyatt.
-
In an all-out prize fight, when one guy's left standing, that's how you know who won.
-
It's the chess version of a 15-round heavyweight prize fight.
-
There were local prize fights back then, one tavern's champ against another's, and his father, whose name was Michael, fought every Friday night.
Fiction book (2001) -
The wealthy wagered on the outcome of horse races, prize fights, and even cricket matches, while the less well-off bet on racing and baseball.
Academic text (1991) -
"So Whippy Bird, May Anna, and everybody else climbed back into Toney's heap, and he drove us to the Rocky Mountain Cafe to spend Buster's first prize fight winnings."
Fiction book (1990) -
It seemed to lack focus and be somewhat off-message to have an all-important vice-presidential debate analyzed and talked about like it was a middleweight championship prize fight.
Blog text (32) -
The crowd gathered to watch the thrilling prize fight between two champion boxers for a cash reward.
Synonyms
1
6.8
A boxing match between professional fighters for money
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'prize fight' is directly compositional: its meaning ('a fight with a prize') follows from 'prize' (a reward) + 'fight' (a contest), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the sense. This noun–noun construction is a common, cross‑linguistically transparent way to mark a contest for a reward, even if specific connotations (e.g. professional boxing) are pragmatic details.
Etymology
Prize fight comes from old boxing events where the winner took a 'prize'—usually money given to the best fighter. So prize fight simply names a fight held to win a prize, which is why today it means a boxing match where fighters compete for money.