# feather in one's cap

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/feather-in-ones-cap
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

An accomplishment; particularly one that is flaunted or boasted of.

## Examples

- Winning the award was a real feather in his cap.
- She considered the promotion a feather in her cap after years of hard work.
- Securing a contract with the city's largest tech firm was a major feather in her cap, proving to the board that she could handle high-pressure sales.
- The young diplomat regarded the successful treaty negotiation as the finest feather in his cap, one he would mention at every dinner party for decades.

## Origin

The placing of a feather in a hat has been a symbol of achievement that has arisen in several cultures, apparently independently. The English writer and traveller Richard Hansard recorded it in his Description of Hungary, 1599: "It hath been an antient custom among them [Hungarians] that none should wear a fether but he who had killed a Turk, to whom onlie yt was lawful to shew the number of his slaine enemys by the number of fethers in his cappe." The Native American tradition of adding a feather to the head-dress of any warrior who performed a brave act is well known. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.