decoration vs prize

decoration

noun
  • Any item that adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment or ornamentation. 

  • Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc. 

  • The use of exotic sugars as decoys to distract the immune system of a host 

  • The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation. 

prize

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

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

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

  • 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. 

  • 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 decoration and prize occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )