make the best of it

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

make the best of it

They just have to try to make the best of it, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

"So I've got to make the best of it while I can."

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

"It's hard right now, so we might as well try to make the best of it," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026

Others are prepared to make the best of it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

I sigh and make the best of it.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood