bonus

bo·nus
B3O1N1U1S1
UK/ˈbəʊ.nəs/Canada, US/ˈboʊ.nəs/Australia/ˈbəʉ.nəs/New Zealand/ˈbɐʉ.nəs/

noun

Something extra that is good; an added benefit.

“The employee of the week receives a bonus for his excellent work.”

Very commonScrabble 7

Meanings

bonus1

nounbonus (plural bonuses or bonusses or (nonstandard) boni)

plural bonuses · plural bonusses · nonstandard plural boni

  1. Something extra that is good; an added benefit.
  2. An extra sum given as a premium, e.g. to an employee or to a shareholder.

    The employee of the week receives a bonus for his excellent work.

    2 more examples

    I was a bank manager in the 1970s, but I never received or expected to receive a bonus for doing my paid work.

    2009 February 14, “Letters: Time to sack the bonus culture”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2024

    Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

    2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2020, page 70
  3. video gamesAn addition to the player's score based on performance, e.g. for time remaining.

    Spend the time killing things and there's a bonus for each hit - but only for fatalities notched up since the start of your current life.

    1988, David Powell, Rygar (video game review) in Your Sinclair issue 25
  4. ball gamesOne or more free throws awarded to a team when the opposing team has accumulated enough fouls.
verbbonus (third-person singular simple present bonuses or bonusses, present participle bonusing or bonussing, simple past and past participle bonused or bonussed)

present singular third person bonuses · present singular third person bonusses · participle present bonusing · participle present bonussing · participle past bonused · past bonused · participle past bonussed · past bonussed

  1. transitiveTo pay a bonus, premium

    The main bulk of the piece-workers (71%) are bonussed for fulfillment of the production quotas by the section, shop or plant on condition they fulfill the norms.

    1964, Translations on USSR Labor, United States Joint Publications Research Service, page 22
    2 more examples

    In its adherence to a system of rating which bonusses the most anti-social owners and penalises those doing something to improve the district, the municipality must accept a large measure of responsibility.

    1949, Land Values Research Group, Reclamation of an Industrial Suburb

    Extracting grants called bonusses from municipal councils had become a fine art in the hands of railway promoters, and by the 1870s councils were aware that huge municipal debts could be mounted up by bonussing railway lines that as often as not never materialized.

    1991, Bruce S. Elliott, The City Beyond: A History of Nepean, Birthplace of Canada’s Capital, 1792-1990, Corporation of the City of Nepean, →ISBN, page 130

Bonus2

proper nounBonus (countable and uncountable, plural Bonuses)

plural Bonuses

  1. countableuncountableA surname.
  2. A place name:

Synonyms & antonyms

nounanything that tends to arouse

Similar
Broader
positive stimulus

nounan additional payment (or other remuneration) to employees as a means of increasing output

Similar
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dewh₂-der.?
  2. Proto-Italic*dwenos
  3. Old Latinduonus
  4. Latinbonus
  5. Englishbonus

Borrowed from Latin bonus (“good”). Doublet of bona.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic عِلَاوَة
  • عِلَاوَة (ʕilāwa)extra amount of money given as a premium
Basque gainsari, gainordain
  • gainsarisomething extra that is good
  • gainordainextra amount of money given as a premium
Brazilian Portuguese bônus, bônus
  • bônussomething extra that is good
  • bônusextra amount of money given as a premium
Bulgarian бонус, бонус
  • бонус (bonus)something extra that is good
  • бонус (bonus)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • премия (premija)extra amount of money given as a premium
Catalan plus
  • plussomething extra that is good
Chinese Mandarin 額外收獲 /额外收获, 獎金 /奖金
  • 額外收獲 /额外收获 (éwài shōuhuò)something extra that is good
  • 獎金 /奖金 (jiǎngjīn)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • 紅利 /红利 (hónglì)extra amount of money given as a premium
Dutch bonus, extraatje
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • extraatjesomething extra that is good
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • premieextra amount of money given as a premium
Esperanto bonuso
  • bonusoextra amount of money given as a premium
European Portuguese bónus, bónus
  • bónussomething extra that is good
  • bónusextra amount of money given as a premium
Finnish bonus, lisäetu
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • lisäetusomething extra that is good
  • ekstrasomething extra that is good
  • plussasomething extra that is good
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • kannustuspalkkioextra amount of money given as a premium
  • tulospalkkioextra amount of money given as a premium
French bonus, bonus
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • primeextra amount of money given as a premium
German Bonus, Dreingabe
  • Bonussomething extra that is good
  • Dreingabesomething extra that is good
  • Bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • Prämieextra amount of money given as a premium
Greek μπόνους, επιμίσθιο
  • μπόνους (bónous)something extra that is good
  • επιμίσθιο (epimísthio)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • μπόνους (bónous)extra amount of money given as a premium
Hindi लाभांश
  • लाभांश (lābhāñś)extra amount of money given as a premium
Hungarian prémium
  • prémiumextra amount of money given as a premium
Icelandic bónus, bónus
  • bónussomething extra that is good
  • bónusextra amount of money given as a premium
Italian bonus, extra
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • extrasomething extra that is good
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • extraextra amount of money given as a premium
Japanese おまけ, 賞与
  • おまけ (omake)something extra that is good
  • 賞与 (shōyo)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • ボーナス (bōnasu)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • 褒奨金 (hōshōkin)extra amount of money given as a premium
Korean 보너스
  • 보너스 (boneoseu)extra amount of money given as a premium
Latin dōnātīvum
  • dōnātīvumextra amount of money given as a premium
Norwegian Bokmål bonus
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
Persian شتل
  • شتل (šatal)extra amount of money given as a premium
Polish bonus, premia
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • premiaextra amount of money given as a premium
Russian пре́мия, бо́нус
  • пре́мия (prémija)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • бо́нус (bónus)extra amount of money given as a premium
  • надба́вка (nadbávka)extra amount of money given as a premium
Spanish bonificación, plus
  • bonificaciónsomething extra that is good
  • plussomething extra that is good
  • ñapasomething extra that is good
  • yapasomething extra that is good
  • llapasomething extra that is good
  • chorradasomething extra that is good
  • chorretadasomething extra that is good
  • ipegüesomething extra that is good
  • ipehuilsomething extra that is good
  • añadidurasomething extra that is good
  • bonificaciónextra amount of money given as a premium
  • primaextra amount of money given as a premium
  • bonificarTranslations
Swedish bonus, bonus
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • bonusextra amount of money given as a premium
  • lönebonusextra amount of money given as a premium
Thai โบนัส
  • โบนัส (boo-nás)extra amount of money given as a premium
Turkish bonus, ekstra
  • bonussomething extra that is good
  • ekstrasomething extra that is good
  • ilavesomething extra that is good
  • eksomething extra that is good

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bonus

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

bonus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonus

MLA

“bonus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonus. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bonus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonus.

Source: bonus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.