From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmake a/the differencemake a/the differenceEFFECT/INFLUENCEto have an important effect or influence on something or someone Whatever she did, it made no difference.make a/the difference to One more person wouldn’t make any difference to the arrangements.make a/the difference between It could make the difference between missing your train and getting to work on time. Having a good teacher has made all the difference for Alex (=had an important influence). → difference
Examples from the Corpus
made all the difference• And that has made all the difference in the world.• It was that connection and that relationship, claims Morris, which has made all the difference in his life.• A few ricochets have made all the difference.• Outside, in the A-frame jungle, it made all the difference in the world.• Pot-growing and planting in good soil near sea level made all the difference.• That one play made all the difference.• With these and other examples, promotion probably made all the difference.• He was a Swaledale man who arrived in 1910 and that made all the difference. 