Synonyms

cheer up

Idioms

Become or make happy, raise the spirits of, as in This fine weather should cheer you up. This term may also be used as an imperative, as Shakespeare did (2 Henry IV, 4:4): “My sovereign lord, cheer up yourself.” [Late 1500s]

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.

“Hey-hey, we shall cheer up our glorious Ukraine!”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

So cheer up, everyone — it might not happen.

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2025

Voters started to cheer up about the economy.

From Slate • Sep. 6, 2024

About midway through “The Sixth Sense,” Bruce Willis’ Malcolm, a compassionate child psychologist, attempts to cheer up Haley Joel Osment’s Cole, a disturbed boy struggling with secrets he’s too scared to reveal.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2024

I feel like crying, too, but I know Mami is counting on me to cheer up the García girls.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

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