Make it right means to fix what went wrong and make up for it. People say it when something went wrong because of them and they promise to put it right: give the money back, redo the work, apologise. Make things right with someone means to make peace with a person after an argument.
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make it right; make it right by + -ing; make things right with + person
- I know we got your order wrong, and we'll do whatever it takes to make it right.
- We had a bad argument before he moved abroad, and I still want to make things right with him.
- The hotel lost our booking, but the manager made it right by giving us a better room.
What changed
First versionSorry I broke your phone. I'll do it right, I promise.
RevisionSorry I broke your phone. I'll make it right, I promise.
Do it right can seem like a natural way to promise a fix. But do it right means to do a job correctly, without mistakes: it's how you promise to do a task carefully. After breaking someone's phone, you don't need to complete a task; you need to make up for the damage, so it's make it right.
A close phrase is get it right, meaning to do something without mistakes, exactly as it should be: It took me three tries to get the pronunciation right. And make it up to someone means to make amends to a particular person, often by doing something nice: I missed your birthday, but I'll make it up to you.
Your turn
The airline lost my suitcase, and the manager promised to ___ by paying for new clothes.
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make it right — The manager pays for new clothes, so he makes up for the loss: that's make it right. Do it right would mean doing a job correctly, and this isn't about how to carry out a task.
Describe a time you let someone down. Say what happened and how you're going to make it right.
I forgot to send my colleague the files before her presentation, so I'll make it right by helping her prepare tomorrow morning.
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