paying tribute to someone

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiom

   Publicly expressing respect, admiration, or gratitude for someone, often in a speech, ceremony, or artistic work.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase or after a linking verb: 'The event is paying tribute to someone.' The active verb is 'pay tribute to someone'.

   Patterns

   • paying tribute to someone
   • paying tribute to someone for something

   The concert was a way of paying tribute to someone who had inspired a whole generation of musicians.

   At the memorial, speakers spent hours paying tribute to someone they called a national hero.

   The film director is paying tribute to someone by naming a character after her.

Common combinations

paying tribute to a hero

The statue was erected as a way of paying tribute to a hero of the revolution.

paying tribute to a loved one

Many families wrote poems paying tribute to a loved one who had passed away.

a fitting tribute

The new library is a fitting tribute to the man who loved books.

pay tribute to someone's memory

They held a moment of silence to pay tribute to the victims' memory.

Synonyms and how they differ

honoring

More general and commonly used in everyday English; 'paying tribute' is more formal and often public.

commemorating

Focuses on remembering an event or person, often after death; 'paying tribute' can also happen while the person is alive.

Word family

tribute noun

An act, statement, or gift that shows respect or admiration.

pay tribute verb

The base form: to express respect or admiration publicly.

Commonly confused: paying tribute to someone or attribute?

Practice

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