1. noun A feeling of deferential admiration, esteem, or appreciation for someone or something. I have a huge amount of respect for my parents now that I'm a parent myself. You've got to have respect for a company that can create such revolutionary products.

2. verb To have a feeling of deferential admiration, esteem, or appreciation for someone or something because of a particular reason or aspect. I really respect you for how you handled that bully in class today. The engineer respected the machine for its ingenious design.