make the best of it

Idioms

Also, make the best of a bad bargain. Adapt as well as possible to a bad situation, bad luck, or similar circumstances, as in Jeff ended up in a cabin without his friends, but decided to make the best of it, or She got the worst possible position, but Dad told her to make the best of a bad bargain. The first term dates from the first half of the 1600s. The second appeared in John Ray's proverb collection of 1670 and coexisted for a time with variants such as make the best of a bad game and make the best of a bad market, which have died out.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I know this situation isn’t what either of you wanted, but I hope you both make the best of it,” Mom said.

From Literature

“The way I see it, you get dealt a hand in life, and it’s up to you to choose how you play it. So, you can keep huffing and puffing about the partner you got stuck with, or you can make the best of it and become a phenomenal team. From what I saw back there”—he jerked his head toward the Sherlock class’s platform—“Regan is pretty dang good.”

From Literature

“None of us likes what’s happened around here, Ida B, but we’re trying to make the best of it,” he went on.

From Literature

“This season I competed with my Minions short program to bring joy and playful style to the ice while still meeting every required element to show that skating as a male Olympic figure skater can be fun. ... Nevertheless, I will face this challenge head on and do my best to make the best of it.”

From Los Angeles Times

But he added: "We do need to make the best of it".

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023