phrasal verb / collocation · neutral
make a difference
UK/meɪk ə ˈdɪfrəns/US/meɪk ə ˈdɪfəˌrɛns/make·a·DIFF·er·ence
speakingtask2
to have a significant effect or impact
Examples
“Volunteering really makes a difference to local communities.”
“Small changes in diet can make a big difference to health.”
“Every vote can make a difference in a close election.”
Band 8 sentence
“Strategic investment in early education can genuinely make a difference to long‑term social mobility.”
Collocations
- make a difference to someone
- make a big difference
Word family
make a difference (present) verbmade a difference (past) verbmaking a difference (gerund) verb
Common mistakes
make difference→make a difference
do a difference→make a difference
Say it for a higher band
5matter→6have an impact→7+make a difference
Synonyms
have an impact
matter
Easily confused
have an impact
“The new policy will have an impact on small businesses.”
matter
“Your opinion matters to me.”
Related words
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