compliments

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of compliment.

   The chef was showered with compliments after the opening night.

   Backhanded compliments can sting more than open criticism.

   Note

   The regular plural, made with -s. Compliments are paid or given, received, returned, or fished for, and a backhanded one praises with a sting. Keep the spelling with an i: complements, with an e, is the plural of a different word, for things that complete or suit one another.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of compliment.

   She rarely compliments anyone, so her praise for the report meant a lot.

   The review compliments the director on her restraint in the final scenes.

   Note

   The present-tense verb for he, she, it or any singular subject, spelled exactly like the plural noun. It usually takes the person praised as its object, with on for what earns the praise: the review compliments the director on her restraint. Word order tells the two apart: a subject before it makes it the verb.

3. 3
   noun

   Good wishes, especially as conveyed with a gift or a message.

   The owner sent over a bottle of wine with his compliments.

   The flowers came with a card that read, "With the compliments of the management."

   Similarregards, greetings, respects

   Note

   A polite formula that lives in the plural and mostly in one phrase: with our compliments, with the compliments of the management. It turns up on a calendar handed to customers, a card tucked into flowers, a bottle sent to a table. Here nobody is being praised; the word marks a gift as a courtesy from the giver.

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