The Mutiny on the Bounty Was About Breadfruit
A bounty is a reward or generous supply. The most famous ship of that name was carrying plants, not treasure.
A bounty is a reward offered, or an abundant supply. HMS Bounty earned lasting fame in 1789 for a mutiny with an unglamorous cause: the ship was carrying breadfruit seedlings from Tahiti to the Caribbean, where they were intended as cheap food for enslaved people. The plants were thrown overboard when the crew seized the ship.
- A reward for a task. *A bounty on the wolf.*
- Generosity. *The bounty of the harvest.*
- Bounty hunter — someone who pursues rewards. *A bounty hunter tracked him.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bounty | A generous bounty. |
| Plural | bounties | Government bounties. |
| Adjective | bountiful | A bountiful harvest. |
| Compound | bounty hunter | A bounty hunter. |
| Related | bonus | An annual bonus. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A bounty was offered for information.Reward.
- Autumn's bounty filled the store.Abundance.
- Bug bounty programmes pay for security flaws.Modern technology use.
Kinds of bounty
- Bounty hunter — pursues fugitives for a fee
- Bug bounty — payment for reporting a software vulnerability
- Wool bounty — historical subsidy paid on exports
- Pest bounty — payment per animal killed, often with unintended consequences
- Bounty of nature — an abundant natural supply
From Old French *bontet*, goodness, from Latin *bonitas*, from *bonus*, good — the same root as *bonus* and *bonanza*.
What was HMS Bounty carrying?
Breadfruit seedlings from Tahiti, intended as a cheap food crop for plantations in the Caribbean.
What is a bug bounty?
A payment offered by a company to anyone who reports a security flaw in its software rather than exploiting it.