make (māk)

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[Middle English maken, from Old English macian.]

verb: made (mād), mak·ing, makes. 

transitive verb 

1. To cause to exist or happen; bring about; create: made problems for us; making a commotion.
2. To bring into existence by shaping, modifying, or putting together material; construct: make a dress; made a stone wall.
3. To form by assembling individuals or constituents: make a quorum.
4. To change from one form or function to another: make clay into bricks.
5. 1. To cause to be or become: made her position clear; a decision that made him happy.
   2. To cause to assume a specified function or role: made her treasurer; made Austin his home.
6. 1. To cause to act in a specified manner: Heat makes gases expand.
   2. To compel: made him quit.
7. 1. To form in the mind: make an estimate.
   2. To compose: make verses.
8. 1. To prepare; fix: make dinner.
   2. To get ready or set in order for use: made the bed.
   3. To gather and light the materials for (a fire).
9. 1. To engage in: make war.
   2. To carry out; perform: make a phone call; make an incision.
10. To achieve, produce, or attain: made peace between the two sides; not making sense; didn't make the quota.
11. 1. To institute or establish; enact: make laws.
    2. To draw up and execute in a suitable form: make a will.
    3. To arrange or agree to: make a date.
12. 1. To arrive at; reach: made Seattle in two hours.
    2. To reach in time: just made the plane.
13. 1. To attain the rank or position of: made lieutenant.
    2. To acquire a place in or on: made the baseball team; made the newspapers.
14. 1. To gain or earn, as by working: make money.
    2. To behave so as to acquire: make friends.
    3. To score or achieve, as in a sport: made a field goal.
15. 1. To assure the success of: Favorable reviews can make a play.
    2. To favor the development of: Practice makes a winning team.
16. To be suited for: Oak makes strong furniture.
17. To develop into: will make a fine doctor.
18. 1. To draw a conclusion as to the significance or nature of: don't know what to make of the decision.
    2. To calculate as being; estimate: I make the height 20 feet.
    3. To consider as being: wasn't the problem some people made it.
19. 1. To constitute: Ten members make a quorum.
    2. To add up to: Two and two make four.
    3. To amount to: makes no difference.
20. To cover (a distance): made 200 miles before sunset
21. To constitute the essence or nature of: Clothes make the man.
22. To cause to be especially enjoyable or rewarding: You made my day.
23. To appear to begin (an action): She made to leave.
24. Slang To persuade to have sexual intercourse.

intransitive verb 

1. To act or behave in a specified manner: make merry; make free.
2. To begin or appear to begin an action: made as if to shake my hand.
3. To cause something to be as specified: make ready; make sure.
4. To proceed in a certain direction: made for home; made after the thief.
5. Slang To pretend to be; imitate. Used with like: made like a ballerina.
6. To undergo fabrication or manufacture: This wool makes up into a warm shawl.
7. To rise or accumulate: The tide is making.

noun 

1. The act or process of making; manufacturing.
2. The style or manner in which a thing is made: disliked the make of my coat.
3. The amount produced, especially the output of a factory.
4. A specific line of manufactured goods, identified by the manufacturer's name or the registered trademark: a famous make of shirt.
5. The physical or moral nature of a person; character or disposition: found out what make of man he was.
6. Slang Identification of a person or thing, often from information in police records: Did you get a make on the thief?

phrasal verbs

make for

To have or produce (a particular effect or result): small details that make for comfort.

To help promote; further: makes for better communication.

make off

To depart in haste; run away.

make out

To discern or see, especially with difficulty: I could barely make out the traffic signs through the rain.

To understand: could not make out what she said.

To write out; draw up: made out the invoices.

To fill in (a form, for example).

Informal To represent as being: made me out to be a liar.

Informal To try to establish or prove: He made out that he was innocent.

To get along in a given way; fare: made out well in business.

Slang To neck; pet. To have sexual intercourse.

make over

To redo; renovate.

To change or transfer the ownership of, usually by means of a legal document: made over the property to her son.

make up

To put together; construct or compose: make up a prescription.

To constitute; form: Ten years make up a decade.

To alter one's appearance for a role on the stage, as with a costume and cosmetics. To apply cosmetics.

To devise as a fiction or falsehood; invent: made up an excuse.

To make good (a deficit or lack): made up the difference in the bill. To compensate for: make up for lost time.

To resolve a quarrel: kissed and made up.

To make ingratiating or fawning overtures. Used with to: made up to his friend's boss.

To take (an examination or course) again or at a later time because of previous absence or failure.

To set in order: make up a room.

Printing To select and arrange material for: made up the front page.

make with

To bring into use: a flirt making with the eyes.

To put forth; produce: always making with the jokes.

idioms

make a clean breast of

To confess fully.

make a face

To distort the features of the face; grimace.

make a go of

To achieve success in: have made a go of the business.

make away with

To carry off; steal. To use up or consume. To kill or destroy.

make believe

To pretend.

make bold

To venture: I will not make so bold as to criticize such a scholar.

make book

To accept bets on a race, game, or contest.

make do

To manage to get along with the means available: had to make do on less income.

make ends meet

To manage so that one's means are sufficient for one's needs.

make eyes

To ogle.

make fun of

To mock; ridicule.

make good

To carry out successfully: made good his escape. To fulfill: made good her promise. To make compensation for; make up for: made good the loss. To succeed: made good as a writer.

make hay

To turn to one's advantage: The candidate's opponents made hay of the scandal.

make heads or tails of

To understand: I couldn't make heads or tails of the report.

make history

To do something memorable or spectacular enough to influence the course of history: The first space flight made history.

make it

Informal To achieve a goal; be successful. finally made it as an actor.Slang To have sexual intercourse.

make light of

To treat as unimportant: He made light of his illness.

make love

To engage in amorous caressing. To engage in sexual intercourse.

make much of

To treat as of great importance.

make no bones about

To be forthright and candid about; acknowledge freely: They make no bones about their dislike for each other.

make off with

To snatch or steal: made off with the profits.

make (one's) day

To give one great pleasure.

make (one's) peace with

To bring oneself to accept; reconcile oneself to.

make (one's) way

To go forward; advance. To succeed, especially in making a living.

make sail

To begin a voyage. To set sail.

make sense

To be coherent or intelligible: an explanation that made sense. To be practical or advisable: It makes sense to go now.

make something of

To start a fight or quarrel over.

make the grade

To measure up to a given standard.

make the most of

To use to the greatest advantage.

make the scene

To put in an appearance: made the scene at the party. To participate in a specified activity: made the drug scene.

make time

To travel speedily. To travel at a specified rate: We made good time getting to town.Slang To make progress toward attracting someone: tried to make time with the new neighbor.

make tracks

To move or leave in a hurry.

make up (one's) mind

To decide between alternatives; come to a definite decision or opinion.

make waves

To cause a disturbance or controversy.

make way

To give room for passage; move aside. To make progress.

on the make

Aggressively striving for financial or social improvement: a young executive on the make. Eagerly seeking a sexual partner.

derivatives

maḱa·ble

adjective