give credit
Idioms-
Also, extend credit . Trust someone to pay at some future time what he or she owes. For example, I haven't enough cash this month, so I hope they'll give me credit . This use of credit dates from the mid-1500s.
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Acknowledge an accomplishment, as in They really should give her credit for the work she's done . [Late 1700s] The phrase is sometimes amplified to give credit where credit is due , meaning the acknowledgment should be to the person who deserves it. This expression was probably coined by Samuel Adams in a letter (October 29, 1777), which put it: “Give credit to whom credit due.” It is sometimes put give someone their due , as in We should really give Nancy her due for trying to sort out this mess .
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.
“I’ll give credit to Emily, Rick Devens, Christian, Dee,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
To give credit where it’s due, few films wear their bathos with such pride.
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026
Mr. Boise’s op-ed speaks truth, but he fails to give credit where credit is due.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
But the guys that came in really stepped up and you've got to give credit to Starc for the way he stepped up and performed.
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026
It seems unfair not to give credit where credit is due simply because one lacks a certain number of candles on one’s birthday cake.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
