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make yourself at home. — an expression used to tell someone to feel comfortable and relaxed in your home, as if it were their own

Part of speech: VERB

Definition: an expression used to tell someone to feel comfortable and relaxed in your home, as if it were their own

Pronunciation (IPA): /meɪk jərˈsɛlf æt hoʊm/

Example Sentences

  • My mother-in-law said 'make yourself at home' and then criticized everything I touched.
  • Welcome to our house! Make yourself at home and help yourself to anything in the fridge.
  • He really made himself at home - he even started rearranging my furniture!

make yourself at home.

VERB

[/meɪk jərˈsɛlf æt hoʊm/]

an expression used to tell someone to feel comfortable and relaxed in your home, as if it were their own

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/meɪk jərˈsɛlf æt hoʊm/
🇬🇧 UK/meɪk jəˈsɛlf æt həʊm/

🌳Etymology

Origin

This phrase is a traditional English idiom used to welcome guests, developing from the literal meaning 'make yourself as if you were at home.' It emerged from the practice of assuring visitors that they should feel comfortable and relaxed in someone else's residence, treating it with the same ease and familiarity as their own home.

Breakdown

make (create or cause) + yourself (reflexive pronoun, the person being addressed) + at home (in a state of comfort and familiarity, as one feels in their own residence). The construction combines an imperative verb with a reflexive object and a locative phrase to create an idiomatic expression of hospitality.

🎵Rhyme

home
dome
roam

🔗Collocations

please make yourself at home
make yourself completely at home
feel free to make yourself at home
make yourself at home while I'm gone
just make yourself at home

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“My mother-in-law said 'make yourself at home' and then criticized everything I touched.”

“Welcome to our house! Make yourself at home and help yourself to anything in the fridge.”

😄 Fun example

“He really made himself at home - he even started rearranging my furniture!”

😄 Fun example

“The hotel manager said 'make yourself at home' but charged me extra for using the towels.”

📚Related Words

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