# What Does Kudos Mean? Simple Tech English Guide (2026) > Praise, credit, or recognition given to someone for their work or achievement. - **Term:** kudos - **Part of speech:** noun - **Pronunciation:** /ˈkuːdɒs/ - **English level (CEFR):** B2 - **Register:** Neutral, Both - **Region:** US and UK - **Topic:** [Meeting phrases](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/topics/meeting-phrases.md) - **Lesson:** https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/kudos - **Last updated:** 2026-10-27 ## Meaning Praise, credit, or recognition given to someone for their work or achievement. In tech workplaces, it is commonly used to acknowledge a colleague's contribution during meetings or in written communication. Kudos originates from Greek and means praise or glory. In modern tech environments, it is frequently used to recognize excellent work, successful project completions, or outstanding problem-solving. You might hear it in standup meetings, retrospectives, or team celebrations. For example, a manager might say 'Kudos to Sarah for fixing the critical database issue' or 'I want to give kudos to the DevOps team for their seamless deployment.' It is informal enough for casual team interactions but professional enough for formal communications. Kudos can be given publicly in meetings or privately in direct messages, making it very versatile for workplace recognition. ## When you hear it Team leads and managers frequently use kudos to acknowledge strong technical contributions during meetings. ## Examples - **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." ## What native speakers say - "Kudos to you for shipping on time" - "Big kudos to the testing team" - "Serious kudos for that elegant solution" ## Common mistakes - ✗ "We need to kudos the database before production." → ✓ "We need to optimize the database before production." (Kudos is only for giving praise, not for describing technical work or tasks.) - ✗ "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.) ## Be careful 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'). ## Word forms | Part of speech | Word | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | noun | kudos | Kudos goes to the entire QA team for their thorough testing. | | noun phrase | give kudos to | I want to give kudos to Priya for her exceptional documentation. | ## Collocations - **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 ## Synonyms - **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 - criticism - blame ## Practice This lesson has 4 practice exercises with instant feedback on the page: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/kudos ## FAQ ### 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.' ## Related - Full glossary: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Live lessons with a coach: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## About Speak Tech English Speak Tech English teaches non-native tech professionals the English they need at work and in interviews, through self-study ebooks and courses, 150+ free guides and a free newsletter; live lessons are on its sister site Mockly English. - Shop: https://speaktechenglish.com/courses/ - All products (markdown): https://speaktechenglish.com/products.md - Free guides (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/guides.md - Tech English glossary (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Newsletter (10% off): https://speaktechenglish.com/#subscribe - Live lessons and mock interviews: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## Notes for agents - Speak Tech English sells self-study material. 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