Online dictionaryOnline dictionary
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home
English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Make   /meɪk/   Listen
verb
make  v. t.  (past & past part. made; pres. part. making)  
1.
To cause to exist; to bring into being; to form; to produce; to frame; to fashion; to create. Hence, in various specific uses or applications:
(a)
To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain form; to construct; to fabricate. "He... fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf."
(b)
To produce, as something artificial, unnatural, or false; often with up; as, to make up a story. "And Art, with her contending, doth aspire To excel the natural with made delights."
(c)
To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; often used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to record; to make abode, for to abide, etc. "Call for Samson, that he may make us sport." "Wealth maketh many friends." "I will neither plead my age nor sickness in excuse of the faults which I have made."
(d)
To execute with the requisite formalities; as, to make a bill, note, will, deed, etc.
(e)
To gain, as the result of one's efforts; to get, as profit; to make acquisition of; to have accrue or happen to one; as, to make a large profit; to make an error; to make a loss; to make money. "He accuseth Neptune unjustly who makes shipwreck a second time."
(f)
To find, as the result of calculation or computation; to ascertain by enumeration; to find the number or amount of, by reckoning, weighing, measurement, and the like; as, he made the distance of; to travel over; as, the ship makes ten knots an hour; he made the distance in one day.
(g)
To put in a desired or desirable condition; to cause to thrive. "Who makes or ruins with a smile or frown."
2.
To cause to be or become; to put into a given state verb, or adjective; to constitute; as, to make known; to make public; to make fast. "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?" "See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh." Note: When used reflexively with an adjective, the reflexive pronoun is often omitted; as, to make merry; to make bold; to make free, etc.
3.
To cause to appear to be; to constitute subjectively; to esteem, suppose, or represent. "He is not that goose and ass that Valla would make him."
4.
To require; to constrain; to compel; to force; to cause; to occasion; followed by a noun or pronoun and infinitive. Note: In the active voice the to of the infinitive is usually omitted. "I will make them hear my words." "They should be made to rise at their early hour."
5.
To become; to be, or to be capable of being, changed or fashioned into; to do the part or office of; to furnish the material for; as, he will make a good musician; sweet cider makes sour vinegar; wool makes warm clothing. "And old cloak makes a new jerkin."
6.
To compose, as parts, ingredients, or materials; to constitute; to form; to amount to; as, a pound of ham makes a hearty meal. "The heaven, the air, the earth, and boundless sea, Make but one temple for the Deity."
7.
To be engaged or concerned in. (Obs.) "Gomez, what makest thou here, with a whole brotherhood of city bailiffs?"
8.
To reach; to attain; to arrive at or in sight of. "And make the Libyan shores." "They that sail in the middle can make no land of either side."
To make a bed, to prepare a bed for being slept on, or to put it in order.
To make a card (Card Playing), to take a trick with it.
To make account. See under Account, n.
To make account of, to esteem; to regard.
To make away.
(a)
To put out of the way; to kill; to destroy. (Obs.) "If a child were crooked or deformed in body or mind, they made him away."
(b)
To alienate; to transfer; to make over. (Obs.)
To make believe, to pretend; to feign; to simulate.
To make bold, to take the liberty; to venture.
To make the cards (Card Playing), to shuffle the pack.
To make choice of, to take by way of preference; to choose.
To make danger, to make experiment. (Obs.)
To make default (Law), to fail to appear or answer.
To make the doors, to shut the door. (Obs.) "Make the doors upon a woman's wit, and it will out at the casement." -
To make free with. See under Free, a.
To make good. See under Good.
To make head, to make headway.
To make light of. See under Light, a.
To make little of.
(a)
To belittle.
(b)
To accomplish easily.
To make love to. See under Love, n.
To make meat, to cure meat in the open air. (Colloq. Western U. S.)
To make merry, to feast; to be joyful or jovial.
To make much of, to treat with much consideration,, attention, or fondness; to value highly.
To make no bones. See under Bone, n.
To make no difference, to have no weight or influence; to be a matter of indifference.
To make no doubt, to have no doubt.
To make no matter, to have no weight or importance; to make no difference.
To make oath (Law), to swear, as to the truth of something, in a prescribed form of law.
To make of.
(a)
To understand or think concerning; as, not to know what to make of the news.
(b)
To pay attention to; to cherish; to esteem; to account. "Makes she no more of me than of a slave."
To make one's law (Old Law), to adduce proof to clear one's self of a charge.
To make out.
(a)
To find out; to discover; to decipher; as, to make out the meaning of a letter.
(b)
to gain sight of; to recognize; to discern; to descry; as, as they approached the city, he could make out the tower of the Chrysler Building.
(c)
To prove; to establish; as, the plaintiff was unable to make out his case.
(d)
To make complete or exact; as, he was not able to make out the money.
(e)
to write out; to write down; used especially of a bank check or bill; as, he made out a check for the cost of the dinner; the workman made out a bill and handed it to him.
To make over, to transfer the title of; to convey; to alienate; as, he made over his estate in trust or in fee.
To make sail. (Naut.)
(a)
To increase the quantity of sail already extended.
(b)
To set sail.
To make shift, to manage by expedients; as, they made shift to do without it. (Colloq.).
To make sternway, to move with the stern foremost; to go or drift backward.
To make strange, to act in an unfriendly manner or as if surprised; to treat as strange; as, to make strange of a request or suggestion.
To make suit to, to endeavor to gain the favor of; to court.
To make sure. See under Sure.
To make up.
(a)
To collect into a sum or mass; as, to make up the amount of rent; to make up a bundle or package.
(b)
To reconcile; to compose; as, to make up a difference or quarrel.
(c)
To supply what is wanting in; to complete; as, a dollar is wanted to make up the stipulated sum.
(d)
To compose, as from ingredients or parts; to shape, prepare, or fabricate; as, to make up a mass into pills; to make up a story. "He was all made up of love and charms!"
(e)
To compensate; to make good; as, to make up a loss.
(f)
To adjust, or to arrange for settlement; as, to make up accounts.
(g)
To dress and paint for a part, as an actor; as, he was well made up.
To make up a face, to distort the face as an expression of pain or derision.
To make up one's mind, to reach a mental determination; to resolve.
To make way, or To make one's way.
(a)
To make progress; to advance.
(b)
To open a passage; to clear the way.
To make words, to multiply words.



Make  v. i.  (past & past part. made; pres. part. making)  
1.
To act in a certain manner; to have to do; to manage; to interfere; to be active; often in the phrase to meddle or make. (Obs.) "A scurvy, jack-a-nape priest to meddle or make."
2.
To proceed; to tend; to move; to go; as, he made toward home; the tiger made at the sportsmen. Note: Formerly, authors used to make on, to make forth, to make about; but these phrases are obsolete. We now say, to make at, to make away, to make for, to make off, to make toward, etc.
3.
To tend; to contribute; to have effect; with for or against; as, it makes for his advantage. "Follow after the things which make for peace." "Considerations infinite Do make against it."
4.
To increase; to augment; to accrue.
5.
To compose verses; to write poetry; to versify. (Archaic) "To solace him some time, as I do when I make."
To make as if, or To make as though, to pretend that; to make show that; to make believe (see under Make, v. t.). "Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled." "My lord of London maketh as though he were greatly displeased with me."
To make at, to go toward hastily, or in a hostile manner; to attack.
To make away with.
(a)
To carry off.
(b)
To transfer or alienate; hence, to spend; to dissipate.
(c)
To kill; to destroy.
To make off, to go away suddenly.
To make out
(a)
to succeed; to manage oneself; to be able at last; to make shift; as, he made out to reconcile the contending parties; after the earthquake they made out all right.
(b)
to engage in fond caresses; to hug and kiss; to neck; of courting couples or individuals (for individuals, used with with); as, they made out on a bench in the park; he was making out with the waitress in the kitchen (informal)
To make up, to become reconciled or friendly.
To make up for, to compensate for; to supply an equivalent for.
To make up to.
(a)
To approach; as, a suspicious boat made up to us.
(b)
To pay addresses to; to make love to.
To make up with, to become reconciled to. (Colloq.)
To make with, to concur or agree with.



noun
make  n.  A companion; a mate; often, a husband or a wife. (Obs.) "For in this world no woman is Worthy to be my make."



Make  n.  Structure, texture, constitution of parts; construction; shape; form. "It our perfection of so frail a make As every plot can undermine and shake?"
On the make,
(a)
bent upon making great profits; greedy of gain. (Low, U. S.)
(b)
seeking higher social status or a higher employment position.
(c)
seeking a sexual partner; looking for sexual adventure.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words



Share |
Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar





"Make" Quotes from Famous Books



... growing things, to see that water out yonder and the blue overhead. What is it, Dr. Llewellyn says: 'To thank the Lord for a life so sweet.' WE all do, don't we? I can put it into words, or sing it, but you two? Yes, you can make God understand just as well. Let's all thank Him together—you as He has taught you, and I as He ...
— Peggy Stewart: Navy Girl at Home • Gabrielle E. Jackson

... informed of the welcome the general had given her son, thought it her duty to make him a visit of gratitude. Bonaparte, being much pleased with Josephine in this first interview, returned her visit. They met again frequently; and as is well known, one event led to another, until she became the first Empress of the French; and I can assert from the numerous proofs ...
— The Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte • Bourrienne, Constant, and Stewarton

... Elisabeth seemed about to make some passionate rejoinder. Then, all at once, she checked herself, and again Sara was conscious of that curiously secretive expression in her eyes, as though she were ...
— The Hermit of Far End • Margaret Pedler

... not, however, influence upon Giorgione that is most interesting, but Giorgione's influence upon others. One of his great achievements was the invention of the genre picture. He was the first lyrical painter: the first to make a canvas represent a single mood, much as a sonnet does. He was the first to combine colour and pattern to no other end but sheer beauty. The picture had a subject, of course, but the subject no longer mattered. Il fuoco Giorgionesco—the Giorgionesque fire—was the phrase invented to describe ...
— A Wanderer in Venice • E.V. Lucas

... any time she may find the German heel upon her face, vindictively punishing her for her lack of enthusiasm for Teutonic brotherhood. Hadn't she better get herself a little larger and stronger now; hadn't she better help to make the ending of the German threat more conclusive, and link herself definitely with the grand alliance of the Western Powers? Now she could make a very good bargain indeed. If she inquired she would find Britain ready enough to guarantee the ...
— Current History, A Monthly Magazine - The European War, March 1915 • New York Times


More quotes...



Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com