🗓️ Idiom: Make Waves (v)
💬 Meaning
- To cause a noticeable impact or attract attention, often by doing something new, different, or disruptive.
- To create change, stir up strong reactions, or challenge the status quo.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The new marketing campaign really made waves across social media.
- Her bold product launch strategy made waves in the industry.
- Startups often make waves by offering something the big players haven’t considered.
🏛️ Origin
The idiom “make waves” comes from the idea of disturbing calm water, symbolising disruption or noticeable effects. In a figurative sense, it began appearing in the mid-20th century to describe people or actions that challenge norms or attract attention.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The influencer’s video campaign __________ and boosted the brand’s visibility overnight.
Answer
made waves
2. Choose the correct meaning of “make waves”:
A) To keep things quiet and unchanged
B) To cause a noticeable impact or reaction
C) To relax and take it easy
Answer
B) To cause a noticeable impact or reaction
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“Their new advertisement attracted a lot of attention and started conversations.” → Change the sentence using: make waves
Answer
Their new advertisement made waves and started conversations.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 Marketing and Sales Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit