From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhonourable mentionˌhonourable ˈmention British English, honorable mention American English noun [countable] GETGOOD/EXCELLENTa special honour in a competition for work that was of high quality but did not get a prize
Examples from the Corpus
honourable mention• Rickenbacker deserves an honourable mention for the most significant non-advance in design.• Both projects were shortlisted and received an honourable mention in the 1991 awards. 