to make light work of

1 4.1

To finish a task quickly and with little effort

phrasal verb

Informal

: hacer algo fácil

See this just as a liquid bronzer and you see the sponge just makes light work of blending that in.

Examples

I should think he'll make light work of it.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)
See this just as a liquid bronzer and you see the sponge just makes light work of blending that in.

Jamie Genevieve
The new software will make light work of the complicated calculations for the budget.
Using a blender will make light work of preparing the smoothie in just a minute.
With the right tools, you can make light work of the heavy lifting during the move.

Synonyms

to breeze through

vsto make light work of

Informal

6 3.6

To succeed at something quickly and easily

means quick success that is both fast and requires little effort

to make short work of

vsto make light work of

Informal

4 4.4

To finish something quickly and with little effort

is about finishing fast while also being notably easy

to make quick work of

vsto make light work of

Informal

4 3.9

Finish a task quickly and well

emphasizes both speed and low effort not only quickness

to sweep through

vsto make light work of

1 4.1

To finish something quickly and with little effort

describes quick, easy completion of single tasks rather than many successes at once

to handle with ease

vsto make light work of

1 3.3

Deal with a task or problem easily and with confidence

adds quickness to the relaxed control, stressing speed as well

Antonyms

to struggle

∞ 2.8

To try very hard to do or deal with something difficult

to labor

56 2.7

To work hard on difficult physical tasks

How Hard

to struggle

∞ 2.8

to manage

∞ 3.2

to make light work of

Informal

1 4.1

Surface Forms

make light work of infinitive

made light work of past

made light work of past participle

making light work of present participle

makes light work of third person singular

Morphology

make + light + work + of

The sense 'to complete something quickly and easily' can be derived by composing 'make' (cause) + 'light' (not heavy) + 'work' (task) — literally 'make the work light' — so a learner who knows the constituents can plausibly infer the meaning. However, the phrasing is a conventionalized, metaphorical extension and a fixed collocation with 'of', so the specific idiomatic pattern may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Make light work of comes from the image of people make a heavy load light, so the work becomes easier. So it means 'to finish something quickly and with little effort'.