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to make my day

to make my day

28 5.6
To give someone great happiness
  • idiom
  • Informal
: alegrarme el día
  • Receiving a compliment from my friend really makes my day.
  • Go ahead, make my day
  • Thank you for making my day
  • just made my day

Please, dear sweet baby Jesus, please make my day.

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Examples

  • Well, that really makes my day.

  • You have made my day brighter.

    Academic text (2016)
  • You have really made my day.

  • Oh you just made my day.

  • You just made my day.

  • You just about made my day for sure.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I mean, you just completely made my day with this article.

    Blog text (22)
  • Thanks everyone for sharing your stuff; this post really made my day.

    Blog text (6)
  • You've absolutely made my day!

  • I don't know who you are, Lamorne Morris, but you just made my day.

    Blog text (2)

Synonyms

412 1.5

Help someone feel happier when they are sad or sick

is specifically about causing great happiness rather than general recovery
to cheer
vsto make my day
248 1.0

To make someone feel happier

is about creating much greater happiness than a brief mood lift
to make someone smile
vsto make my day
85 1.0

Cause someone to feel happy or amused

is aimed at creating deep or lasting happiness rather than brief amusement
to bring joy
vsto make my day
48 2.3

To make someone feel happy

is about producing especially great happiness or pleasure
to lift someone's spirits
vsto make my day
17 3.9

To make someone feel happier when they are sad

is aimed at causing great pleasure rather than easing a low mood
to brighten one's day
vsto make my day
  • Informal
2.8

To make someone feel happier or more cheerful

is stronger, aiming for great happiness rather than a small lift
to lift one's spirits
vsto make my day
3.9

To make someone feel happier

is focused on creating big happiness rather than modest mood boosts

Antonyms

294 1.0

Fail to do what someone hoped for

How Happy

to delight
31 2.1
to make my day
  • Informal
28 5.6
to cheer up
  • Informal
236 1.4
to please
372 1.0

Surface Forms

make my day infinitive
made my day past participle
making my day present participle
makes my day third person singular

Morphology

make + mine + day

The meaning is directly inferable from 'make' (cause) + 'my' (possessive) + 'day' (the day): it literally means to cause someones day to be good or pleasant. This causal, compositional pattern is common across languages and follows ordinary English grammar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Make my day may come from a famous movie line where a character said 'go ahead, make my day', and people began using it to mean 'do something that will please me'. The image is that one small kind act can brighten a whole day, so the phrase now means 'to do something that makes someone very happy'.