award vs prize

award

noun
  • A trophy or medal; something that denotes an accomplishment, especially in a competition. A prize or honor based on merit. 

  • A negotiated set of employment conditions and minimum wages for a particular trade or industry; an industrial award. 

  • A judgment, sentence, or final decision. Specifically: The decision of arbitrators in a case submitted. 

  • The paper containing the decision of arbitrators; that which is warded. 

verb
  • To determine; to make or grant an award. 

  • To give (an award). 

  • To give by sentence or judicial determination; to assign or apportion, after careful regard to the nature of the case. 

  • To give (a person) an award. 

prize

noun
  • An honour or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort. 

  • That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. 

  • Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect. 

  • A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever. 

  • Anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; especially, property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel. 

  • That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery. 

adj
  • Having won a prize; award-winning. 

  • First-rate; exceptional. 

verb
  • To move with a lever; to force up or open; to prise or pry. 

  • To consider highly valuable; to esteem. 

How often have the words award and prize occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )