# prestige

/pɹɛˈstiʒ/ (US) · /pɹɛstˈiːʒ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/prestige
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. high status

noun · CEFR B2

the respect and admiration that someone or something gets because of their success or high quality.

For teachers: widespread respect and admiration felt for someone or something on the basis of a perception of their achievements or quality.

- Winning the Nobel Prize brings a lot of prestige to a scientist.
- The university's long history of academic excellence has earned it a level of prestige that attracts the world's most talented researchers.

### 2. gaming progress

noun · CEFR C1 · Slang

the act of restarting a game from the beginning to get special rewards or a higher rank.

For teachers: a game mechanic where a player resets their progress in exchange for unique bonuses, cosmetic items, or increased rank.

- After reaching the maximum level, he decided to enter prestige mode for the new skins.
- The developers introduced a new prestige system to maintain player engagement after the main campaign was completed.

### 3. high quality or status

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic

describing something that is respected and seen as high quality.

For teachers: denoting something that commands respect or carries high status; often used in linguistics to describe a standard language variety.

- The company launched a prestige brand of watches for luxury buyers.
- In many societies, the prestige dialect is the one used by newsreaders and government officials in formal settings.

### 4. to restart a game

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to reset your progress in a video game to earn a special status.

For teachers: to reset one's character or account progress within a game to obtain rewards or a higher tier of recognition.

- I finally managed to prestige after playing the game for three months.
- Players who choose to prestige often find the early levels more challenging without their late-game equipment.

## Examples

- Winning the award brought great prestige to the small school.
- The university's prestige makes it a top choice for ambitious students from all over the world.
- While the salary was modest, the prestige associated with the diplomatic post provided a level of social capital that few other roles could offer.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.