brownie points

Idioms

Credit for a good deed, as in John earned a lot of brownie points for doing his boss's report for him. The term originated with the points earned for various achievements by the youngest group of the Girl Scouts, called Brownies. In the mid-1900s it was transferred to general use.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His government would not be the first to be swept away by the intensity and glamour of global diplomacy which, however difficult or worthy, doesn't necessarily translate into significant brownie points at home.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2025

I don’t want to say this to try to get ideological brownie points, but the fact of the matter is there's nothing enormously brave about me, right?

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024

“We couldn’t have cared less about what anybody thought, including family, We weren’t looking to score brownie points; we were looking to shed light on the naked, nasty truth!”

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2023

She also noted that, thanks to Bieber’s Halloween homage, “I think I won brownie points with my kids !!!!”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2021

“That’s true form, perfect brother. The Great Peacemaker. You rack up brownie points with Mom and maintain the image of the perfect son.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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