Say it like this
- Kudos to you for shipping on time
- Big kudos to the testing team
- Serious kudos for that elegant solution
Use it at work
Praising
- Kudos to Maria for fixing the build so fast!
- Big kudos to the support team this week.
In meetings
- Before we start, kudos to everyone who helped with the launch.
- I want to give kudos to the design team.
Thanking
- Thanks for the kudos!
- Kudos on the great demo.
Don't say this
Kudos is only for giving praise, not for describing technical work or tasks.
Don't mix it up
| Term | What it is | Who writes or uses it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| kudos | Praise or credit | Anyone | Slack, meetings |
| shoutout | Public thanks | Anyone | Slack, all-hands |
Practice
Try it
4 quick exercises
1. Your teammate solved a tricky API integration. How do you express praise?
2. In the retro, the lead said, 'Major _______ to everyone who helped with the migration.'
3. Which sentence uses kudos incorrectly?
4. Rewrite this in natural tech English using kudos: 'I want to recognize and praise the backend team because they completed the API refactor early.'
Say it out loud
Phrase 1 of 3
"Kudos to you for shipping on time"
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More about kudos
Real examples(3)
- in a standup
"Kudos to Marcus for debugging that race condition overnight."
- in a code review
"Kudos on the clean architecture here, really thoughtful design choices."
- in a team meeting
"I want to give kudos to the entire frontend team for launching the redesign ahead of schedule."
More mistakes(2)
Handle with care. Kudos is used to give praise, not to critique or point out problems. It cannot be used as a verb (avoid saying 'we kudosed the code').
- ✕Thanks for the kudos on my pull request.✓Thanks for the feedback on my pull request.
Feedback includes both praise and constructive criticism; kudos is only praise.
- ✕He kudosed the testing framework.✓He improved the testing framework; kudos to him.
Kudos is a noun, not a verb. You give kudos, you do not kudos something.
Other forms(2)
- kudos noun
"Kudos goes to the entire QA team for their thorough testing."
- give kudos to noun phrase
"I want to give kudos to Priya for her exceptional documentation."
Often used with(4)
- give kudos to · Most common structure; used to acknowledge someone's achievement
- kudos for · Followed by a noun or gerund to specify what the praise is for
- deserve kudos · Used when someone has earned recognition
- big kudos · Emphasizes the significance of the praise
Similar words(4)
- props · More casual and slang; commonly used in tech culture
- credit · More formal; used in official contexts and documentation
- recognition · More formal and broader; can include awards or formal acknowledgment
- shout-out · More informal; emphasizes public recognition
Opposites(2)
- criticism
- blame
Questions(5)
- What does kudos mean in software engineering?
- Kudos is a noun meaning praise or recognition for a job well done. In tech companies, it is used to acknowledge a colleague's technical contribution, successful project delivery, or impressive problem-solving. For example: 'Kudos to the DevOps team for the zero-downtime deployment.' It comes from Greek and is commonly used in both written and spoken communication.
- How do you use kudos in a sentence at work?
- Use kudos with the structure 'give kudos to [person] for [achievement]' or 'Kudos to [person] for [achievement].' Examples: 'Kudos to Jessica for refactoring the authentication module' or 'I want to give kudos to the QA team for catching that critical bug.' You can also use it in phrases like 'She deserves kudos for her documentation' or 'Major kudos to everyone involved.'
- Is kudos formal or informal?
- Kudos is neutral in formality. It is professional enough for team meetings, emails, and formal presentations, but casual enough for standup meetings and Slack messages. It is more informal than words like 'recognition' or 'credit' but more professional than slang terms like 'props.' This versatility makes it ideal for most workplace communication.
- Can you use kudos as a verb?
- No, kudos is only a noun. You cannot say 'we kudosed the code' or 'she kudosed the system.' Instead, say 'we should optimize the code' or 'she deserves kudos for improving the system.' The only verb structure is 'give kudos to' where 'give' is the verb, not 'kudos.'
- Is kudos singular or plural?
- Kudos is typically treated as singular in modern English, even though it originated from Greek and historically referred to multiple compliments. Use 'kudos is' or 'kudos goes to,' not 'kudos are.' Example: 'Kudos is definitely due to the infrastructure team.'
