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Glite Dictionary
to take my hat off to

to take my hat off to

5 6.6
To show respect and praise for someone and their achievements
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : quitarse el sombrero ante
  • I was a proud owner of the very first Mac, and I take my hat off to all of you for starting the ball rolling.
  • I really take my hat off to those who work tirelessly
  • I take my hat off to this guy
  • You got to take your hat off to them

I have to take my hat off to these people.

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Examples

Synonyms

to hand it to
vsto take my hat off to
  • Informal
43 4.6

Praise someone for doing something well

emphasises respect or admiration rather than only giving credit
to pay homage
vsto take my hat off to
  • Formal
22 5.8

Show deep respect to someone or something, often in public

is more everyday admiration rather than deep formal public honour
hats off
vsto take my hat off to
  • Informal
6 7.2

To show respect or praise for someone's achievement

is a general expression of respect rather than a single exclamation
to take your hat off
vsto take my hat off to
5.9

To admire and respect someone for what they have done

is used when the speaker expresses their own respect personally
to doff a hat
vsto take my hat off to
8.8

Take off your hat to show respect or greet someone

expresses respect verbally or generally rather than only by gesture

Antonyms

to criticize
701 3.3

To say what is wrong with someone or something

to disrespect
115 3.5

To show a lack of respect for someone

How Admirable

to take my hat off to
  • Informal
5 6.6
to admire
743 1.6

Surface Forms

take my hat off to infinitive
taking my hat off to present participle
takes my hat off to third person singular
took my hat off to past
taken my hat off to past participle

Morphology

take + mine + hat + off + to

The literal image of removing a hat to show respect gives a clear link between the constituents ('take', 'hat', 'off') and the idiomatic meaning, so part of the sense can be inferred from the words. However, the phrase is a conventionalized gesture-based idiom and the metaphorical extension ('to show admiration') is cultural and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so learners may need exposure to the usage. Cross-linguistically similar honourific gestures exist but the verbalized idiomic use is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Take my hat off to comes from the old polite action of lifting or taking off your hat when you met someone you admired. That image of removing a hat as a sign of respect is why the phrase now means 'show respect' or 'admire' someone.