cheer up

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitive

   To make someone feel happier when they are sad or worried.

   Grammar: Takes an object, often a person: cheer someone up. With a pronoun, the pronoun goes between the verb and 'up': cheer him up.

   Patterns

   • cheer someone up
   • cheer up someone
   • cheer up

   I bought my sister some flowers to cheer her up.

   Nothing could cheer him up after his team lost the final.

   She tried to cheer up the children with a funny story.

2. 2verbintransitive

   To become happier after feeling sad.

   Grammar: No object; the subject is the person who becomes happier: he cheered up after the news.

   Patterns

   • cheer up
   • cheer up after something

   He cheered up when he heard the good news.

   She soon cheered up once her friends arrived.

   The baby cheered up after a nap.

3. 3interjectionfixed phraseinformal

   Used to tell someone who is sad to be more positive.

   Grammar: Said on its own as a short, friendly command: Cheer up! It'll be fine.

   Patterns

   • Cheer up!

   Cheer up! Things will get better soon.

   Cheer up, it's not the end of the world.

   She said, 'Cheer up!' and gave me a hug.

Word forms

Common combinations

cheer someone up

A cup of tea might cheer you up.

try to cheer someone up

We tried to cheer her up with a surprise party.

cheer up a bit

He cheered up a bit when his friends called.

cheer up soon

I hope you cheer up soon.

Synonyms and how they differ

comfort

This means to make someone feel less sad by being kind, but it does not always mean making them happier.

lift someone's spirits

This is a more formal or literary way to say 'cheer someone up'.

brighten up

This is often used for someone's face or mood becoming happier, not for making another person happy.

Opposites

Commonly confused: cheer up or cheer on?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “cheer up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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