compliment
/ˈkɑmpləmənt/noun, verb
compliment is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “complement vs compliment” about 40,500 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, compliment means “An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of compliment is compliments.
How many letters and syllables are in compliment?
| Letters | 10: C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is compliment?
Compliment appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce compliment?
- US /ˈkɑmpləmənt/
- UK /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/
Compliment has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-compliment.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with compliment
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: complement (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with compliment?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as compliment from its last stressed vowel (/ɑmpləmənt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of compliment
- compliments plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- complimenting participle, present
- complimented participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does compliment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
pay someone a compliment
- 2
Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery.
verb
- 1
To pay a compliment (to someone); to express a favourable opinion (of someone).
Wiktionary also records compliment as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate compliment?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of compliment: compt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Compliment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compliment , complimenter, faire un compliment, faire des compliments |
| German | Kompliment, Lob, Anerkennung, Achtungsbezeugung, Ehrenbezeigung , beglückwünschen |
| Portuguese | elogio , elogiar |
| Spanish | cumplido, falago, halago, cumplimiento, chicoleo , cumplimentar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does compliment come from?
Borrowed from French compliment, itself a borrowing of Italian complimento, which in turn is a borrowing from Spanish cumplimiento, from cumplir (“to comply, complete, do what is proper”) + -miento or Latin complēmentum. Doublet of complement. Displaced Old English ġeswǣsnes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).