What is better in life than knowing that you are successful? 

Having someone acknowledge that you successfully accomplished a task, and say that you did a good job is priceless!

Everyone likes to be praised for their achievements, and in English, one of the most common ways to applaud someone is to use the phrase “good job”.

What Do We Mean When We Say “Good Job”?

“Good job” is an English phrase that is used to praise someone. When you say that someone did a “good job” you think that they did something well.

It consists of an adjective “good” and a noun “job”. A job is usually defined as something that someone does to earn money. So “good job” is usually associated with a workplace setting. 

However, the word job is also defined as a task that someone has done or needs to accomplish. In this case, you can say “good job” when you mean to praise someone for doing something successfully. For example, a student who passed a hard exam did a “good job” or a child who cleaned their room did a “good job” or a friend who got the number of a cute girl at a bar did a “good job.”

Someone who did a “good job” accomplished something. Saying “good job” acknowledges that accomplishment and conveys admiration and pride.

40 Ways To Say “Good Job” Without Saying “Good Job”

The following words and phrases are synonyms for “good job”. 

If you look at an online thesaurus, these are several of the synonyms that they will list down for “good job”. 

Some of these are one-word utterances that you can say to imply that you think someone did a good job. Some are phrases that elaborate on what you think is praiseworthy. Native English speakers will use these words automatically, without thinking about them too much, so it’s important that you learn them too. 

1. Well done

2. Great work

4. That’s the way 

3. Good thinking

“That’s the way” and “good thinking” are used when someone has come up with a good solution to a problem. So if someone has come up with a process that made workflow more efficient, you can use these phrases.

5. You’re a genius 

6. Compliments to (name/pronoun)

7. Good boy/girl 

“Good boy” or “good girl” might seem a bit condescending if you are talking to an adult. It’s also technically what one might say to a dog. Best be careful about when you use this. 

8. Have the right idea

9. I couldn’t have put it better myself

“Have the right idea” or “I couldn’t have put it better myself” is a great way to acknowledge someone who came up with a good idea during a brainstorming session or a meeting. It implies that what they said will be implemented going forwards.

10. Congratulations

11. Long live

12. Let’s hear it for

13. Simply Superb

14. To your credit

15. First class job/work

16. Good for you

17. That’s great

18. All right

19. Excellent

20. Wonderful 

21. Outstanding 

22. I’m impressed

23. You’ve mastered it

24. You always amaze me

25. What an improvement

26. You are learning a lot/fast

27. You got it right 

28. You are very good at that

29. Fantastic

30. Sensational

31. Nice going

32. That’s it

33. That’s right

34. Good going

35. Keep it up

36. You’ve got it now

37. Couldn’t have done it better myself

38. That’s the right way to do it

39. We couldn’t have done it without you

40. You certainly did well today

6 Other Ways to Say “Good Job” On The Job

As we mentioned, one of the most common places that “good job” is used is in the workplace setting. It’s used to praise someone who has completed their tasks and contributed to the overall success of a project.

Here are a few other good ways to say “good job” that are more likely to be heard in an office setting.

1. Outstanding work/job

2. Exceptional work/job

3. Congratulations on a job well done

4. Congratulations on your good work

5. Keep up the good work.

6. We couldn’t have done it without you.

10 Slang terms That Mean “Good Job”

Slang is words or phrases in a language that may not have a direct translation in other languages but is understood by native speakers. Often times the words may be “nonsense”, mishmashes of actual words or shortened versions of formal phrases, or they could make sense but have a different meaning from the actual translation.

What’s important to remember about slang terms in English is that they are often considered “informal”, so you need to be careful about when you use them. While “good job” may be appropriate in a formal business setting, these slang terms that mean “good job” are considered informal and should probably only be used among friends or with co-workers in informal settings. Don’t use them around the company owner or during a board meeting.

Slang also tends to be influenced by “regions”. For example, British English and Australian English have different slang terms than American English. 

The first terms we are going to enumerate here are slang words that mean “good job” that you will hear from someone speaking British English.

1. Brilliant/Bril!

2. Well done, mate!

3. Ace!

4. Bully for (name/pronoun/title)

This next slang term is associated with speakers of Australian English.

5. Good on ya! 

It’s short for “good on you” and Australians use to say that they approve of what you have done. 

Now here are a few more English slang terms that mean “good job”. We’re going to list them down and, in some cases, explain the reasoning behind why they can be used in the place of “good job”

6. Congrats

Short for “congratulations” which is an English word used to praise someone. Native speakers will understand it and accept its usage, but it’s considered informal.

7. Respect

8. Props 

9. Way to go

10. Nice one

7 Idioms and Expressions That Mean “Good Job”

The English language is filled with idioms and expressions that are used almost daily to convey the speaker’s thoughts and emotions.

Like they would slang, a native English speaker will grasp what an idiom means almost instinctively, but because what they mean is different from what they say an English language learner might be confused.

Here are a few possible “confusing” terms that mean a good job.

1. Credit where credit’s due

When you give someone “credit”, you are saying that a good idea as there’s or a good job was accomplished by them. This phrase is used by a speaker when they want to highlight someone else’s contribution to a task.

For example, you were head of the decorating committee during the office Halloween party. Bob, one of your team members painted a scary “welcome sign” and your boss complimented it. You can acknowledge and point out that Bob did a “good job” by saying:

Credit where credit is due, Bob painted the sign. 

2. Deserve a medal

When someone wins a race or has done something outstanding, they often get a medal or an award, right?  So if you say this, you are implying that someone did such a “good job” that they should get a medal or award, even if there was no medal or award at stake.

3. Hats off to (name)

This dates back to earlier days when hats were a regular part of people’s wardrobe. Back then, to show respect, you would take off your hat to someone. So now, when you just have to respect the “good job” that someone did, you say this.

4. Take a bow

This particular expression goes back to the theater. When a performance was ended, the performers came out to take a bow and hear the audience applaud them. When you say someone should “take a bow”, you said they did such a good job that they at least deserve praise if not actual applause.

5. You hit the target

When someone hit’s a target, they fired a successful shot. So, saying this means that they were successful and that they accomplished a job or a task.

6. That’s a real work of art

A work of art is a rare, valuable, and praiseworthy thing. So, if you tell someone they’ve created a “work of art”, they’ve done something that is really admirable and worth praise.

7. You’re one of a kind

This idiom implies that someone is unique and special. When you say this to someone, you are implying that no one else could have done what they did, so they did a good job. 

Conclusion

One of the most interesting – and sometimes confusing -- things about learning conversational English is finding out about all the different ways that native speakers have to express themselves.  Like “good job”, such a simple phrase with wonderful meaning, and so many synonyms. 

While memorizing lists of common English vocabulary words are a good way for beginners to start, you need to go a little deeper if you want to have meaningful conversations with native English speakers. 

One of the best ways to increase your fluency and learn different ways to say basic things like “good job” is to work with a native English language speaking tutor. You can ask them all about the different ways that you can say “good job” and other things. They can help you learn not only what these phrases mean, but the best times to use which specific phrase.