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Deriving from Greek, kudos entered English as slang popular at British universities in the 19th century. In its earliest use, the word referred to the prestige or renown that one gained by having accomplished something noteworthy. The sense meaning "praise given for achievement" came about in the 1920s. As this later sense became the predominant one, some English speakers, unaware of the word's Greek origin, began to treat the word as a plural count noun, inevitably coming up with the back-formation kudo to refer to a single instance of praise. For the same reason, when kudos is used as a subject you may see it with either a singular or plural verb.
Synonyms
Examples of kudos in a Sentence
Bill Roberson, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2023
For those going the vintage route, kudos to any guest who turns up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an archival Balmain frock dating between 1955 and 1958—the period when Lagerfeld served as Pierre Balmain’s assistant.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2023
Stewart is dressed for gardening in a green jumpsuit and straw hat (kudos on the sun protection, Martha!).
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 6 Jan. 2023
So kudos to Brandon Flowers for trying to find a novel way in with this 2008 number.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for kudos 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kudos.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Kudos.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kudos. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
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