return the compliment

Idioms

Also, return the favor. Repay someone in kind, as in Her political opponent came out with a smear campaign, and she returned the compliment. Neither the compliment nor the favor in this idiom is necessarily desirable. [First half of 1700s]

Example Sentences

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return the compliment

It's high praise from the hottest author around at the moment and Cavanagh is quick to return the compliment and also talk about other local authors who he thinks people should be reading.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

It took a long time for the country to return the compliment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

When Grande tried to return the compliment, Eilish quipped back, “This is not about me, ma’am.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2025

If you wish to return the compliment, blink and your cat might blink back.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2022

He said: "Come now, Miss Vera Claythorne, aren't you going to return the compliment?"

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

return the compliment

Example Sentences

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