69 Idioms about Respect in English (With Meanings & Examples)

	Idiom	In short
1	Look up to someone	Admire and respect someone.
2	Hold someone in high regard	Respect someone greatly.
3	Think highly of someone	Have a good opinion of someone.
4	Have a lot of time for someone	Genuinely like and respect someone.
5	Speak highly of someone	Praise someone to other people.
6	Sing someone's praises	Praise someone enthusiastically and publicly.
7	Take your hat off to someone	Admire what someone has done.
8	Tip your hat to someone	Acknowledge someone's achievement.
9	Give credit where credit is due	Acknowledge someone's contribution honestly.
10	Give someone their due	Acknowledge what someone deserves, even reluctantly.
11	Pay tribute to someone	Publicly honour someone.
12	Give the devil his due	Acknowledge the good qualities of someone you dislike.
13	Command respect	Naturally cause people to respect you.
14	Earn respect	Gain respect through your actions.
15	Carry weight	Have influence, so that your opinion matters.
16	Have clout	Have real influence or power.
17	Have someone's ear	Be listened to by someone important.
18	Second to none	Better than everyone else.
19	In a league of their own	So good that comparison is pointless.
20	A class act	Someone who behaves with skill and dignity.
21	A tough act to follow	So good that whoever comes next will struggle to match them.
22	A legend	Someone widely admired and talked about.
23	Held in high esteem	Widely and formally respected.
24	Hear someone out	Listen to someone's full argument before responding.
25	Give someone a fair hearing	Listen to someone properly and without prejudice.
26	Give someone the floor	Let someone speak, uninterrupted.
27	Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Assume the best about someone when you are not sure.
28	Take someone's word for it	Believe someone without needing proof.
29	Defer to someone	Accept someone else's judgement as better than yours.
30	Bow to someone's judgement	Accept someone else's decision.
31	Look someone in the eye	Face someone honestly and directly.
32	Mind your Ps and Qs	Be careful to behave politely.
33	Respect your elders	Show deference to older people.
34	Put someone on a pedestal	Admire someone unrealistically.
35	Hero-worship	Admire someone excessively and uncritically.
36	Kowtow to someone	Be excessively, humiliatingly deferential.
37	Bow and scrape	Behave with excessive, servile politeness.
38	Suck up to someone	Flatter someone in authority for personal gain.
39	A yes-man	Someone who agrees with the boss about everything.
40	A bootlicker	Someone who flatters authority shamelessly.
41	Stand on ceremony	Insist on formal manners and procedure.
42	Look down on someone	Consider someone inferior.
43	Look down your nose at someone	Show visible contempt for someone.
44	Talk down to someone	Speak to someone as if they are less intelligent.
45	Treat someone like dirt	Treat someone with contempt.
46	Walk all over someone	Take advantage of someone who does not resist.
47	Take someone for granted	Stop appreciating someone who is reliable.
48	Not give someone the time of day	Refuse to acknowledge someone at all.
49	Give someone the cold shoulder	Deliberately ignore someone you know.
50	Snub someone	Ignore or dismiss someone publicly.
51	Give someone short shrift	Dismiss someone or something quickly and without sympathy.
52	Sell someone short	Underestimate someone's value.
53	Damn with faint praise	Criticise someone by praising them only mildly.
54	Turn your nose up at something	Reject something as not good enough for you.
55	Do someone a disservice	Treat or describe someone unfairly.
56	Get too big for your boots	Become arrogant about your own importance.
57	Get above yourself	Behave as though you are more important than you are.
58	Have a big head	Be conceited.
59	Get on your high horse	Become self-righteous and morally superior.
60	Lord it over someone	Behave as though you are superior to someone.
61	Throw your weight around	Use your authority aggressively.
62	Pull rank	Use your seniority to force a decision.
63	Put someone in their place	Sharply remind someone of their status.
64	Take someone down a peg or two	Humble someone who is arrogant.
65	Respect is earned, not given	You get respect through your actions, not your title.
66	You get the respect you give	Respect is reciprocal.
67	Do unto others as you would have them do unto you	Treat people the way you want to be treated.
68	Familiarity breeds contempt	Knowing someone too well can reduce your respect for them.
69	Manners maketh man	How you treat people defines who you are.