Idiom: Over the Moon

Illustration of a joyful couple emerging from the top of a full moon, holding an engagement ring box under a starry sky, symbolizing the idiom 'over the moon' to express their happiness upon getting engaged.

Meaning

(be) over the moon: To be extremely happy or pleased.

Notes:

With the picture above it's not difficult to remember this idiomatic expression. The young couple standing over the moon is delighted because they have just gotten engaged to be married. The moon is located way up in the sky and that shows the height of their happiness.

From this, it can be understood that when someone is over the moon they are so delighted or happy that they feel like they could jump over the moon.

Usage:

This is a very common expression in English, especially in British English.
The expression is informal and is often used in spoken English or in casual written contexts.

Origins:

It's not clear exactly where this expression came from but it is believed to come from older expressions related to the moon that illustrated something beyond someone's reach. So being "over the moon" implies a state of happiness that is more than someone would expect.

It's often used to describe someone's elation after hearing good news, achieving a goal, or experiencing something wonderful.

At the same time, the idiom can be used for ordinary everyday situations, as you can see in the examples below. The situation does not have to be extraordinary. I could be something very ordinary but the feeling is one of real happiness.

Sentence examples

If you became fluent in English, would you be over the moon? Here are some sentence examples to help you improve your vocabulary.

— I was over the moon when I found out my wife was pregnant with twins.

— Your father will be over the moon to know you're engaged to marry Elizabeth.

— You'd think my nephew won the lottery with how over the moon he is about the new toy my wife gave him.

— My daughter's over the moon that she got her driver's license.

— My grandmother was over the moon when we had a surprise party for her 75th birthday.

— "Are you happy you got the job?" "Happy? I'm over the moon!"

— We were over the moon when we boarded the cruise ship in Greece and then absolutely miserable when we were stuck on the boat with sea sickness and food poisoning.

— We're over the moon that you're coming over for Thanksgiving dinner—I think it's been 20 years since we've seen you.

— I'll be over the moon if the guys on the crew team come to my party next weekend!

— My roommate was over the moon when she found the last slice of pizza in the fridge.

— After weeks of cloudy weather, the sun finally came out, and we were over the moon.

— When my cat finally learned to use the litter box, I was over the moon – and so was my carpet!

— After searching for hours, Jeremy finally found his phone in the fridge and was over the moon.

— I thought my sister would be over the moon when her boyfriend proposed marriage but she was angry and scared.

— Our teacher was over the moon when we all passed the final exam.

— My kids were over the moon when we got them a puppy.

— My friend got tickets to Beyoncé's concert and I was over the moon when she invited me to go with her.

— To be honest, we were over the moon when our daughter's awful boyfriend cheated on her and then broke up with her.

— I’m over the moon that I got into Stanford University's Law School!

Synonyms

on cloud nine
walking on air
in seventh heaven
tickled pink
flying high

Antonyms

down in the dumps
feeling blue
in the doldrums

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