What does kudos mean?
Word: Kudos
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Kudos means the high standing and good name that someone gains from an achievement or an important position.
Synonyms: prestige
Word origin: From the Greek word kudos.
How do you spell kudos?
Syllables: ku - dos
Tricky part: It ends in s, but that s is not a plural ending, so it never drops away; kudo and kudoes are the slips to avoid.
Watch out for: kudoz, kudous
Memory tip: Think of the final s as the shiny seal stamped on a winner's medal: the honour is not complete without it.
Kudos in a sentence
Example 1: Winning the national robotics prize brought the school a great deal of kudos.
Example 2: There is real kudos in being picked to captain the county side.
Example 3: Rahul's patient work on the science fair stand won him kudos among the older students.
Fun Fact
Kudos reached English in the late 1700s and is said to have started as university slang, used by students who knew their Greek.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
The orchestra gained considerable cudos after its tour of three neighbouring countries, and the conductor was praised in every newspaper.
a) only considerable
b) cudos and considerable
c) considerable and neighbouring
d) only cudos
Show answer
d) only cudos. Kudos starts with k, not c; considerable and neighbouring (the British spelling) are both correct.
Back to the Roots
Kudos comes from ___ and it means ___.
a) French / a gift of thanks
b) Greek / a gift of thanks
c) Latin / glory or fame
d) Greek / glory or fame
Show answer
d) Greek / glory or fame. The Greek word meant glory or renown, which is why kudos is about the honour an achievement brings.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its synonym:
1. kudos 2. tranquil 3. frugal a. thrifty b. calm c. acclaim
a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. A frugal shopper is thrifty, a tranquil lake is calm, and kudos is close to acclaim.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. kudos 2. kitten 3. kumquat 4. kiosk
a) 4231
b) 4213
c) 2413
d) 2143
Show answer
b) 4213. Kiosk and kitten share ki, and o comes before t; then kudos and kumquat share ku, and d comes before m.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which situation would someone gain kudos?
a) arriving at school a little late
b) winning the inter-school chess final
c) losing a glove on the way home
d) spilling paint on the art table
Show answer
b) winning the inter-school chess final
2. A newspaper says a young architect gained real kudos from her design. This means that she
a) became admired by others in her field
b) spent far more money than she planned
c) moved her office to a larger building
d) changed the design many times over
Show answer
a) became admired by others in her field
