pay a compliment — give praise
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutraloccasional
to say something nice to someone to show you admire or appreciate them.
Say it like a native
Textbook He bestowed a compliment upon her cooking.
Native He paid her a compliment on her cooking.
'Bestow a compliment upon' is archaic; 'pay a compliment' is the set phrase.
Pattern: pay a compliment (to someone)
In use
- She paid me a compliment on my presentation, which made me feel more confident.communication
- In my opinion, it’s important to pay a compliment when someone does a good job because it encourages them.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He paid me a complement.
✓ He paid me a compliment.
'Compliment' (praise) vs 'complement' (something that completes) — different words.
Common collocations
pay a compliment— pay a compliment, pay her a compliment, a nice compliment, take it as a compliment
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'give a compliment,' which is also correct, but 'pay a compliment' is a common collocation.