I. ˈmāk verb
( made ˈmād ; made ; making ; makes )
Etymology: Middle English maken, from Old English macian; akin to Old Frisian makia to build, make, Middle Dutch maken to make, do, Old High German mahhōn to join, prepare, do, make, Middle Irish maistrid he butters, Welsh maeddu to conquer, Greek magēnai to be kneaded, Old Slavic mazati to anoint; basic meaning: to knead, press
transitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : behave , act — used with it and an adverb or adjective complement
b. : to seem to begin (an action) : begin
made to go
2.
a. archaic : to bring about — used with that
b. : to cause to happen to or be experienced by someone
make us some sport
make trouble for him
c. : to cause to exist, occur, or appear : bring to pass : create , cause
God made heaven and earth
make a disturbance
his entrance made a sensation
making a fuss over nothing
make mischief
d. : to give rise to : favor the growth or occurrence of
good fences make good neighbors — Robert Frost
lending money is a good way to make enemies
haste makes waste
e. : to fit, intend, or destine by or as if by creating
laws were made for men, not men for laws
ham and eggs were made for each other
was never made to be an actor
f. chiefly South & Midland : to plant and raise (a crop)
made a crop of oats
3. obsolete : to give birth to
4.
a. : to bring (a material thing) into being by forming, shaping, or altering material : fashion , manufacture
make a gun
make a suit of clothes
make a toy
make bricks without straw
make a railing out of water pipes
b. : compose , write
make verses
make a sonnet
make an epigram
c. : to lay out and construct
make a road
make a park
5. : to frame or formulate in the mind : form as a result of calculation or design
make plans for vacation
make a diagram
6. : to put together from components or ingredients : constitute
make bread with whole wheat flour
house made of stone
a chance to show the stuff he is made of
7.
a. : to compute or estimate to be : find by calculation to be
I make it 23 miles to the border from here
b. : to form and hold in the mind
make no doubt that he is guilty
made no scruple of joining the enterprise
8.
a. : to lay and set alight (a fire)
b. : to set in order
make beds
: fix , prepare
make coffee
make dinner
make camp
c. : to shuffle (a deck of cards) in preparation for the next deal
9.
a. dialect : to cure (as fish) by smoking or drying
b. : to cause (hay) to be cut and cured
10.
a. : to cause to be or become : put in a certain state or condition
trying to make the matter clear to everyone
was made leader of the expedition
made him sorry he had spoken so quickly
made the scene real for us
made himself useful around the place
b. : appoint , ordain
made him bishop
made him a member of his cabinet
11.
a. : enact , establish
make laws
make a rule
b. : to execute in an appropriate manner : draw up
make a will
make a deed of transfer
c. : set , name
make a price for the lot
make spades trumps
d. : to cause (an occurrence in time or the hour of the day) to be announced, indicated, or observed
make eight o'clock by striking eight bells
make sunset by hauling down the colors with ceremonies
12. chiefly Britain : to train to a requisite standard of efficiency
make a horse
make a falcon
13.
a. now dialect : to make fast : shut , bar
at this time the doors are made against you — Shakespeare
b. : to take possession of (a point) in backgammon by occupying with two or more men
c.
(1) : to cause (an electric circuit) to be completed or closed
(2) : to bring about (a contact)
d.
(1) : to convert (a split) into a spare in bowling
made the 3-10 split
(2) : to score (a spare) by means of a split in bowling
make a spare by getting the 3-10 split
14. obsolete
a. : bring
have they made you to this — Ben Jonson
b. : put
dangerous to make them hence — Ben Jonson
15.
a. : to conclude as to the nature or meaning of something
hardly knew what to make of his actions
b. : to regard as being : think to be
not the fool some make him
16.
a. : to carry out (an action indicated or implied by the object) : perform
make war
time to make a move
make an incision
make a promise
make amends
make a speech
make music
make apologies
made a crackling noise
made plans to go away
make preparations for the trip
make a bid
b. : to perform with a bodily movement
make a bow
make a jump
make a sweeping gesture
c. : to achieve by traversing : traverse
make a long detour
mailman making his rounds
17.
a. : to produce as a result of action, effort, or behavior with respect to something
make a mess of the job
managed to make a joke of his losses
must be made an example of
made a practice of getting up early
— often used with of it
tried to make a thorough job of it
decided to make a night of it
b. : eat
made a good breakfast
made a hasty lunch of soup and a sandwich
c.
(1) archaic : to turn into another language by translation
making these two authors English — John Dryden
(2) obsolete : interpret
18. : to cause to act in a certain way : compel — used with infinitive without to
made him return the money
but with to in passive constr.
made to see the error of his ways
19. : to cause or assure the success or prosperity of
the night that either makes me or fordoes me quite — Shakespeare
anyone he takes a liking to is made
20.
a. : to amount to in significance
makes a great difference
makes no matter
doesn't make good sense
b. : to form the essential being of : be sufficient to constitute
clothes make the man
stone walls do not a prison make — Richard Lovelace
c. : to form by an assembling of individuals
make a quorum
two more makes an even dozen
: equal
twice two makes four
two nickels make a dime
d. : to count as
make a fourth at bridge
that makes the third time he has failed
21.
a. : to be or be capable of being changed or fashioned into
rags make the best paper
oak makes good flooring
b. : to develop into : be or become useful as : serve as
she will make a fine wife
worried men make poor soldiers
a collie makes a good watchdog
rabbit makes a good stew
made a very good witness
c. : form 6b
22.
a. : reach , attain , achieve
tried to make the airfield with one motor failing
made an average of 200 miles a day
can make 80 miles per hour
a story that made the front page
make a home run
— often used with it
you will never make it to the other shore in this weather
b. : to gain the rank of
made corporal after a few months
c. : to gain a place on
made the varsity soccer team
23. : to gain (as money) by working, trading, or dealing
make a living
make a profit
made his fortune in railroads
24.
a. : to act so as to win or acquire
make acquaintances in his new job
makes friends easily
b. dialect : steal
c. : to score (points) in a game or sport
25.
a. : to fulfill (a contract) in a card game : win (a specified number of points, tricks) at cards
make two spades
b. : to win a trick with (a card)
26.
a. : to get sight of : make out
made an enemy cruiser coming on astern
b. : to visit in the course of a journey : include in a route or itinerary
intended to make Paris on the way to Vienna
c. : catch
in time to make the morning train
d. slang : recognize , identify
afraid the cops would make him from his fingerprints
27.
a. : to persuade to consent to sexual intercourse : seduce 3
nine to one he would make her on the first try — Mary McCarthy
b. : to copulate with : lay 1c
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to compose poetry
2.
a. : behave , act
made as though he were angry
don't make as if you didn't hear me
b. : to begin or seem to begin a certain action
made as though to hand it to me
he made as though he would have gone further — Lk 24:28 (Authorized Version)
c. : to act so as to be or to seem to be — used with adj. complement
make merry
made fast to the dock
made ready to depart
d. slang : to play a part : do an imitation
make like a bird
make like a detective
3. : to set out : proceed , head
last seen making for the river
made after the fox
4. : to increase in height or size
the tide is making now
water was making fast in forward bilges
light was making in the east
5. now dialect : to concern or busy oneself : interfere — used in the phrase to meddle or make
I'll neither meddle nor make with them further — Charlotte Brontë
6. : to reach or extend in a certain direction
the forest makes up nearly to the snow line
7. : to have weight or effect : tell
courtesy makes for safer driving
ignored evidence that made against his theory
8. : to undergo manufacture or processing
bolts are making in this shop
hay makes better in small heaps
9. of ore in a mine : appear , occur
the ore makes at the intersection of a vein by a cross fissure
Synonyms:
make , form , shape , fashion , fabricate , manufacture , and forge can mean in common to cause something to come into being. make can comprise any such action whether by an intelligent or blind agency and resulting in either material or immaterial existence
make a boat
make a treaty
make a choice
make friends
make an impression
form suggests a definite outline, structure, or plan
form a figure out of clay
form a plan
form a league of states
form character by training
shape suggests an outside agency impressing a particular form upon something
a blacksmith shapes horseshoes out of metal
shape a boat out of a block of wood
shape a shoe on a last
shape a good career out of a few talents
fashion suggests both an intelligent agency and a certain inventive power or ingenuity
fashion a cabinet out of orange crates
fashion a work of art out of odds and ends of scrap wood, paint, and pieces of metal
fabricate stresses a uniting of parts or materials in a whole, often according to a standardized pattern, often with skill in construction, and in figurative extension often suggesting the imaginative constructing of a falsehood
fabricate doors and windows for a series of identical houses
fabricate a temporary scaffolding out of tree branches to buttress a wall
fabricate a cock-and-bull story for the press
manufacture stresses the making of something by labor, usually by machinery, now applying to any making using raw materials and a fixed process, often extending to connote laborious, mechanical construction as opposed to skillful creation
manufacture a pair of shoes
manufacture airplane parts
manufacture standard plots for a series of cheap novels
forge still can suggest the smithy or the making of something by sudden strong uniting of elements under intense heat
forge a chain
forged a novel out of his own intense suffering
More often, however, it implies a devising with a certain effort to give the appearance of truth or reality, extending in this use to comprise counterfeiting of documents in handwriting
forge a lie to avoid punishment
forge a signature on a check
•
- make a bag
- make a clean breast
- make a dent in
- make a face
- make a leg
- make a long arm
- make a long nose
- make a market
- make a mouth
- make a play for
- make away with
- make believe
- make bold
- make bones
- make book
- make default
- make do
- make ends meet
- make even
- make foul water
- make free
- make fun of
- make game
- make good
- make haste
- make hay
- make hay of
- make head
- make heavy weather
- make hole
- make light of
- make love
- make much of
- make of
- make one's law
- make one's mark
- make one's number
- make one's peace
- make one's way
- make places
- make play with
- make public
- make ready
- make sail
- make shift
- make something of
- make strange
- make sure
- make the best of
- make the blood boil
- make the fur fly
- make the grade
- make the most of
- make time
- make tracks
- make use of
- make water
- make way
- make weight
- make with
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English mak, maken, from maken, v.
1.
a. : the manner or style in which a thing is composed or constructed
needed a tool of a heavier make
especially : the quality or perfection of cutting of a gem
b. : the origin of a manufactured article
an automobile of a well-known make
2. : the physical, mental, or moral constitution of a person
had the look and make of a prizefighter
men of his make are rare
3.
a. : the act of producing or manufacturing
the make cycle in the production of a fuel gas
b. : the actual yield or amount produced (as by an oil well or a mine) over a specified period : output
4. : the declaration of trumps in the game of bridge-whist
5. : the closing or completing of an electric circuit
6. : act of shuffling ; also : turn to shuffle
it's your make while your partner deals
7. slang : a military promotion or appointment
list of makes
•
- on the make
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English make, mak, from Old English ge maca — more at match
1. now dialect Britain : equal , match
2. now dialect Britain : one who is a companion or mate ; especially : spouse
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
dialect Britain : halfpenny
V. verb
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- make it
- make waves