Ellen Goodman
Is kudo a word?: Usage Guide
Some commentators hold that since kudos is a singular word it cannot be used as a plural and that the word kudo is impossible. But kudo does exist; it is simply one of the most recent words created by back-formation from another word misunderstood as a plural. Kudos was introduced into English in the 19th century; it was used in contexts where a reader unfamiliar with Greek could not be sure whether it was singular or plural. By the 1920s it began to appear as a plural, and about 25 years later kudo began to appear. It may have begun as a misunderstanding, but then so did cherry and pea.
Synonyms
Examples of kudo in a Sentence
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
But Tuesday, the agency got lots of kudos for doing the very thing that it was designed to do: save lives.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 9 May 2024
Thomas Scott received her Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1999; other kudos include the Soap Opera Digest Award in 2001 and four Soap Opera Update Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress (1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996).
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 6 May 2024
The kudos were presented as part of the 2024 ASCAP Screen Music Awards at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles on Thursday (May 9).
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Shame on the media for going along with it and kudos to Dylan Hernández for his follow-up column.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
The Ali Wong-Steven Yeun went on to win five Primetime Emmy Awards in January, including the top kudo for limited or anthology series.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
On the other hand, kudos to Huntington Beach for trying to fight this trend and bring confidence to the election process by passing voter ID.
—Michael Thielen, Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2024
Both Dead City and Daryl Dixon have been absolutely delightful, and the four faces at the heart of both shows deserve their kudos for keeping the Walking Dead universe spinning for many moons still to come.
—Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kudo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near kudo
Cite this Entry
“Kudo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kudo. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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