Complement or compliment?
complement is a noun meaning “The totality, the full amount or number which completes something”; compliment is a noun meaning “An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) compliment is about as common as complement.
What is the difference between complement and compliment?
| complement | compliment | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | The totality, the full amount or number which completes something The whole working force of a vessel To complete, to bring to perfection, to make whole | An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery To pay a compliment (to someone); to express a favourable opinion (of someone) |
| Example | The complement of blue is orange | pay someone a compliment |
| Forms | complements | compliments |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɒmpləmənt/ /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ | /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words | 8.1 times per million words |
Sources: complement and compliment in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of complement and compliment
complement
- 1
The totality, the full amount or number which completes something
- 2
To complete, to bring to perfection, to make whole
We believe your addition will complement the team
- 3
Obsolete spelling or misspelling of compliment
- 4
Obsolete spelling or misspelling of compliment
- 5
The whole working force of a vessel
- 6
To provide what the partner lacks and lack what the partner provides, thus forming part of a whole
The flavors of the pepper and garlic complement each other, giving a very rich taste in combination
- 7
An angle which, together with a given angle, makes a right angle
- 8
To change a voltage, number, color, etc. to its complement
compliment
- 1
An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect
pay someone a compliment
- 2
To pay a compliment (to someone); to express a favourable opinion (of someone)
- 3
Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, complement or compliment?
complement appears 5.9 times per million words; compliment 8.1 times per million words.
complement 5.9 times per million wordscompliment 8.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search complement vs compliment?
“complement vs compliment” is searched about 40,500 times a month on Google and 1,140 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“compliment vs complement”, “complement or compliment”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.