1.
If you make something out, you manage with difficulty to see or hear it.
I could just ~ a tall, pale, shadowy figure tramping through the undergrowth...
She thought she heard a name. She couldn’t make it out, though...
I heard the voices, but couldn’t ~ what they were saying.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P wh
2.
If you try to make something out, you try to understand it or decide whether or not it is true.
I couldn’t make it out at all...
It is hard to ~ what criteria are used...
At first I thought it was an accident, but as far as I can ~, the police consider that’s unlikely.
= understand
PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P wh, V P
3.
If you ~ that something is the case or make something out to be the case, you try to cause people to believe that it is the case.
They were trying to ~ that I’d actually done it...
I don’t think it was as glorious as everybody made it out to be...
He was never half as bad as his teachers made out.
PHRASAL VERB: V P that, V n P to-inf, V P
4.
If you ~ a case for something, you try to establish or prove that it is the best thing to do.
You could certainly ~ a case for this point of view...
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) for/against n, also V n P
5.
When you ~ a cheque, receipt, or order form, you write all the necessary information on it.
If you would like to send a donation, you can make a cheque out to Feed the Children...
I’m going to ~ a receipt for you.
PHRASAL VERB: V n P to n, V P n (not pron)
6.
If two people are making out, they are engaged in sexual activity. (mainly AM INFORMAL)
...pictures of the couple making out in their underwear on the beach.
PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V P, also V P with n