Is there a difference between an award vs a reward?
Award and reward may sound similar when pronounced, but they have distinct meanings. The term “award” refers to a trophy or medal, something that denotes an accomplishment, especially in a competition. It refers to a prize or honour based on merit.
Reward on the other hand refers to something of value given in return for an act.
For someone to receive a reward, they must have completed a task or follow specific instructions given by their superior.
Awards and rewards acknowledge accomplishments and appreciate efforts of completing tasks.
While a reward may or may not be given in public, an award is conferred in front of the mass public to acknowledge excellence in a specific field.
What Is an Award?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “award’ as a trophy or medal or something that denotes an accomplishment, especially in a competition. An award is a prize or honour based on merit.
Awards are conferred to a person or an organization to acknowledge excellence, outstanding performance, or an achievement in a specific field. Awards are usually conferred in front of the mass public.
A conferring award is a special and formal way of recognizing individual accomplishment. Organizations also receive awards for their excellent performance in a particular area.
An award ceremony is usually held in a banquet hall, with the host naming the nominees just before the winner is announced.
An award can be in the form of a trophy, medal, gift, cash, certificate, prize, or accolades. The nominees for an award are usually selected through a formal process, under scrutiny by an expert committee.
Only candidates who have fulfilled specific criteria will be selected as nominees. The best candidate among the nominees will receive the award.
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Award vs Reward: Examples of Popular Awards
Each year, individuals in different fields are nominated for prestigious awards to acknowledge their commitment to their craft. Some of the most prestigious awards held each year include;
- The Grammy Awards for excellence in the music industry, spanning across all genres such as pop, rap, classical, rock, country music, etc.
- The Academy Awards
- The Noble Prize: awarded for excellence in disciplines such as Literature, Chemistry, and Physics.
- The Golden Globe Award: An award ceremony held annually to recognize excellence in film and television
- The Emmy Award: an award ceremony held annually to acknowledge excellence in television shows.
- The Ballon d’Or: an award given to the best football player based on their performance from the previous year.
- The Michelin Stars are awarded to the finest restaurants in the world.
- The Man Booker Prize: an award conferred for works in fiction
What Is a Reward?
A reward is something valuable given in return for an act. A reward is the result of an action, be it good or bad. It’s the prize promised for a certain deed or catch.
A reward is something given as an appreciation for a person’s service. A reward can be given to someone for completing a task or following a superior instruction, rules, or guidelines.
An individual will also be rewarded for their loyalty, honesty, commitment, bravery, courage, and intelligence. A reward can be in the form of a cash prize, a higher job position, or anything considered valuable.
Unlike conferring awards, there is no committee of experts to access any individual work. There are no requirements to meet the criteria for selection.
Earning a reward can also be competed for. For example, bounty hunters collect their reward when they bring in criminals or fugitives. If the reward to turn in a criminal or fugitive is a huge amount, bounty hunters may compete to complete the task to collect the reward.
Additionally, rewards can also be given to individuals in public. They may be given to an individual in front of others as a form of motivation to encourage others to improve in their work field.
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Award vs Reward: Key Differences between Award and Reward
Awards and rewards serve the purpose of acknowledging excellence, honesty, loyalty, commitment, bravery, intelligence, obedience, and truthfulness.
Awards are conferred to a person or an organization to acknowledge excellence, outstanding performance, or an achievement in a specific field. Awards are usually conferred in front of the mass public.
A conferring award is a special and formal way of recognizing individual accomplishment. Organizations also receive awards for their excellent performance in a particular area.
A reward is something given as an appreciation for a person’s service. It can be given for the purpose of completing a task, or following a superior instruction, rules, or guidelines.
An individual will also be rewarded for their loyalty, honesty, commitment, bravery, courage, and intelligence. A reward can be in the form of a cash prize, a higher job position, or anything considered valuable.
An award can be in the form of a trophy, medal, gift, cash, certificate, prize, or accolades. The nominees for an award are usually selected through a formal process, under scrutiny by an expert committee.
Only candidates who have fulfilled specific criteria will be selected as nominees. The best candidate among the nominees will receive the award.
Earning a reward can also be competed for. For example, bounty hunters collect rewards when they bring in criminals or fugitives. If the reward to turn in a criminal or fugitive is a huge amount, bounty hunters may compete to complete the task to collect the reward.
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Award vs Reward: Comparison Chart
| Award | Reward | |
| Nature | Honorific and ceremonial | Incentive-based and compensatory |
| Form | Trophies, medals, titles, certificates | Bonuses, gifts, privileges, acknowledgements |
| Purpose | Recognize achievement or excellence | Motivate or compensate for a certain deed or catch. |
| Recipient criteria | Achieving excellence or surpassing standards | Meeting specific criteria or showing desired behaviour |
| Context | Often public and formal | Can be private or public, but usually more personal |
Award vs Reward: Examples of Sentences with the terms Award and Reward
Let’s look at a few examples of simple sentences with “award” and “reward”.
Simple Sentences with Award
- He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the second time in three years.
- My son received an award for best player of the tournament despite his team losing the finals.
- Maria and Tony won the award tonight as the best-dressed couple.
- He gave a brief speech after winning the award for best performer of the night.
- She was disappointed for not winning the award for best album of the year
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Simple Sentences with Reward
- There is a $5,000 reward for anyone who would provide information to the police.
- Each student was rewarded for participating in the spelling competition.
- He received a reward for his loyalty to the company.
- Tom was expecting some kind of a reward for doing his assignment on time.
- The supermarket rewarded their loyal customers with a 5% discount on all purchases made.
