Meanings
plural prizefights · alternative prize fight
- A professional boxing match, in which two boxers compete for a prize (usually money).
At its heart, the story is fairly familiar from prizefight fiction, one of betrayal - and self-betrayal - in which a once-promising athlete confronts his failure.
1988 August 27, Mel Gussow, “Review/Theater; A Fading Prizefighter Confronts His Facade”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Sep 20241 more example
“Regrettable though it may be, fighting is a basic human interest and previous attempts to outlaw professional boxers in other countries have failed to stamp out illegal prizefights,” the paper said in an editorial.
1976 April 7, Ian Stewart, “Boxer's Death Stirs In in Australia”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2024
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna boxing match between professional boxers for a cash prize
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From prize + fight – the term prize originally referred to rank advancement, not a monetary prize. Based on Renaissance English Prize Playing (16th century) within the Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence [sic] – public rank advancement fights within the organization, wherein the “prize” was rank advancement. The company later became defunct, while the term was revived in late 17th century for public shows of street fighters, which eventually developed into modern boxing. In modern times, reinterpreted to mean “a fight for a (monetary) prize”.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
prizefight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prizefight
“prizefight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prizefight. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prizefight,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prizefight.
Source: prizefight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.