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to make someone's day

to make someone's day

2 3.0
To give someone a lot of happiness, often by a small kind act
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hacer feliz a alguien
  • You never know when you can make someone's day.

What I love most about my is how I can make someone's day.

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Examples

  • It's such a simple and kind way to make someone's day, and it is the season for spreading cheer and love to others.

    Blog text (27)
  • Just the thing to make Crane's day.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • By using your imagination, you can make someone's day.

    Blog text (10)
  • This is a great way for students to think about others and make someone's day brighter just by doing something nice for them.

    Blog text (34)
  • If you are having an off day, smile at a stranger and not only lighten your mood but make someone else's day better.

    Blog text (31)
  • I love it when I can leave a good tip for a waitress/waiter; the joy of being able to make someone's day/night is overwhelming.

    Blog text (10)
  • It is an easy and simple way to make someone else's day brighter, especially around the holidays when individuals living in retirement homes might be lonely.

    Blog text (17)
  • Giving her a compliment really made someone's day.

  • He brought her favorite flowers to work, which made her day.

  • Sharing that funny joke made his friend's day.

Synonyms

to cheer
vsto make someone's day
392 1.0

To make someone feel happier

is more intense, pointing to a special event that greatly pleases
to make (someone) feel better
vsto make someone's day
329 1.5

Help someone feel happier when they are sad or sick

is about making someone very pleased by a special unexpected act
to make someone laugh
vsto make someone's day
252 1.0

Cause someone to feel amused by saying or doing something funny

creates greater happiness often from a special or unexpected gesture
to cheer up
vsto make someone's day
  • Informal
234 1.4

To feel happier after being sad or to make someone feel happier

focuses instead on producing a strong pleasing surprise or joy
to delight
vsto make someone's day
79 2.1

To please someone very much

is similar but often implies a single special uplifting event
to make someone smile
vsto make someone's day
54 1.0

Cause someone to feel happy or amused

is stronger, meaning it produces deep pleasure beyond brief amusement
to make my day
vsto make someone's day
  • Informal
23 5.6

To give someone great happiness

has identical meaning but uses a general, not first person, reference
to overjoy
vsto make someone's day
21 4.1

Make someone very happy

is similar but stresses a sudden special pleasure for the person
to elate
vsto make someone's day
19 6.4

To make someone feel very happy and proud

shares strong happiness but focuses on sudden personal pleasure
to bring joy
vsto make someone's day
12 2.3

To make someone feel happy

narrows this to a special act that makes someone especially pleased
to brighten one's day
vsto make someone's day
  • Informal
8 2.8

To make someone feel happier or more cheerful

is stronger, meaning it makes someone very happy or deeply pleased
to lift one's spirits
vsto make someone's day
8 3.9

To make someone feel happier

is stronger, implying an unexpected action that greatly pleases someone
to warm the cockles of one's heart
vsto make someone's day
  • Informal
2 7.5

To make someone feel happy and warm inside

is similar but often highlights an unexpected special bright moment
to gladden
vsto make someone's day
1 3.5

To make someone feel happy

is similar but usually points to a special pleasing surprise
to lift someone's spirits
vsto make someone's day
1 3.9

To make someone feel happier when they are sad

is more about creating a strong joyful moment than easing sadness
to raise someone's spirits
vsto make someone's day
1 3.4

Help someone feel happier

is more intense, giving a special pleasing boost rather than general cheer

Antonyms

492 1.0

Fail to do what someone hoped for

362 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

How Happy

to make someone's day
  • Informal
2 3.0
to delight
79 2.1
to cheer up
  • Informal
234 1.4
to please
216 1.0

Surface Forms

make someone's day infinitive
made someone's day past participle
making someone's day present participle
makes someone's day third person singular

Morphology

make + someone's + day

The sense is largely derivable from 'make' (cause) + 'someone's day' (the person's day) so a learner can infer it means causing a person's day to be good or happy. However, this involves a metaphorical extension of 'day' to mean someone's overall mood and relies on collocational knowledge, so the exact positive nuance may not be fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Make someone's day comes from the simple image of doing a small kind act that brightens someone's whole day—when you make their day you change how they feel all day. That's why it means 'to make someone feel very happy or pleased'.