Phrase guide

booby prize

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A prize or status, often unwelcome, awarded as a joke or disincentive to the loser of a contest or for poor performance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • At the end of the conference, they awarded him with a rubber chicken as a booby prize for complaining the loudest.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a prize given to one who finishes last in a contest

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: trophy, prize

Narrower terms: wooden spoon

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: poedelprijs — a prize awarded for poor performance
  • Finnish: lohdutuspalkinto — a prize awarded for poor performance
  • French: prix parodique — a prize awarded for poor performance
  • Icelandic: skammarverðlaun — a prize awarded for poor performance
  • Spanish: premio limón — a prize awarded for poor performance
  • Thai: รางวัลยอดแย่ — a prize awarded for poor performance