English Dictionary

Definition of “make”

Browse the English dictionary (A-Z)

1make1 (meɪkPronunciation for make1) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: makes, making, made
(mainly tr)
  1. to bring into being by shaping, changing, or combining materials, ideas, etc; form or fashion; create  ⇒ to make a chair from bits of wood make a poem 
  2. to draw up, establish, or form  ⇒ to make a decision make one's will 
  3. to cause to exist, bring about, or produce  ⇒ don't make a noise 
  4. to cause, compel, or induce  ⇒ please make him go away 
  5. to appoint or assign, as to a rank or position  ⇒ they made him chairman 
  6. to constitute  ⇒ one swallow doesn't make a summer 
  7. (also intr) to come or cause to come into a specified state or condition  ⇒ to make merry make someone happy 
  8. (copula) to be or become through development  ⇒ he will make a good teacher 
  9. to cause or ensure the success of  ⇒ your news has made my day 
  10. to amount to  ⇒ twelve inches make a foot 
  11. to be part of or a member of  ⇒ did she make one of the party? 
  12. to serve as or be suitable for  ⇒ that piece of cloth will make a coat 
  13. to prepare or put into a fit condition for use  ⇒ to make a bed 
  14. to be the essential element in or part of  ⇒ charm makes a good salesman 
  15. to carry out, effect, or do  ⇒ to make a gesture 
  16. (intr; foll by to, as if to, or as though to) to act with the intention or with a show of doing something  ⇒ they made to go out he made as if to hit her 
  17. to use for a specified purpose  ⇒ I will make this town my base 
  18. to deliver or pronounce  ⇒ to make a speech 
  19. to judge, reckon, or give one's own opinion or information as to  ⇒ what time do you make it? 
  20. to cause to seem or represent as being  ⇒ that furniture makes the room look dark 
  21. to earn, acquire, or win for oneself  ⇒ to make friends make a fortune 
  22. to engage in  ⇒ make love not war 
  23. to traverse or cover (distance) by travelling  ⇒ we can make a hundred miles by nightfall 
  24. to arrive in time for  ⇒ he didn't make the first act of the play 
  25. cards 
    1. to win a trick with (a specified card)
    2. to shuffle (the cards)
    3. bridge to fulfil (a contract) by winning the necessary number of tricks
  26. cricket to score (runs)
  27. electronics to close (a circuit) permitting a flow of current Compare break (sense 44)
  28. (intr) to increase in depth  ⇒ the water in the hold was making a foot a minute 
  29. (intr) (of hay) to dry and mature
  30. informal to gain a place or position on or in  ⇒ to make the headlines make the first team 
  31. informal to achieve the rank of
  32. slang to seduce
  33. See make a book
  34. See make a day of it
  35. See make a night of it
  36. See make do
  37. See make eyes at
  38. See make good
  39. See make heavy weather
  40. See make heavy weather of something
  41. See make it
  42. See make like
  43. See make love
  44. See make love to someone
  45. See make or break
  46. See make time
  47. See make water

noun

  1. brand, type, or style  ⇒ what make of car is that? 
  2. the manner or way in which something is made
  3. disposition or character; make-up
  4. the act or process of making
  5. the amount or number made
  6. bridge the contract to be played
  7. cards a player's turn to shuffle
  8. See on the make

See also

make after , make away , make for , make of , make off , make out , make over , make-up , make with

Alternative Forms

ˈmakable adjective

Word Origin

Old English macian;  related to Old Frisian makia  to construct, Dutch maken,  German machen to make

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= produce, cause, create, effect, lead to occasion, generate, bring about, give rise to, engender, beget,
= perform, do, act out, effect, carry out, engage in, execute, prosecute,
= reach, come to, establish, conclude, seal, settle on, determine on,
= give, deliver, pronounce, utter, recite,
= score, gain, amass, win, notch up, chalk up,
= force, cause, press, compel, drive, require, oblige, induce, railroad, constrain, coerce, impel, dragoon, pressurize, prevail upon
= appoint, name, select, elect, invest, install, nominate, assign, designate, hire as cast as employ as ordain, vote in as recruit as engage as enlist as
= create, build, produce, manufacture, form, model, fashion, shape, frame, construct, assemble, compose, forge, mould, put together, originate, fabricate,
= prepare, cook, put together, get ready, whip up, concoct, throw together, dish up, fix, jack up,
= compile, write, produce, draft, pen, compose, draw up, formulate,
= enact, form, pass, establish, fix, institute, frame, devise, lay down, draw up,
= earn, get, gain, net, win, clear, secure, realize, obtain, acquire, bring in, take in, fetch,
= be, become, form, represent, serve as come to be embody, develop into grow into, act as function as
= amount to, total, constitute, add up to, count as tot up to
= gain a place in achieve a place in get into, attain a place in
= get to, reach, catch, arrive at, meet, arrive in time for
= calculate, judge, estimate, determine, think, suppose, reckon, work out, compute, gauge, count up, put a figure on
= brand, sort, style, model, build, form, mark, kind, type, variety, construction, marque,
= nature, character, make-up, stamp, humour, temper, kidney, temperament, disposition, frame of mind, cast of mind,
= structure, cut, character, shape, make-up, constitution, composition, designation,

2make2 (meɪkPronunciation for make2) 

Definitions

noun

archaic 
  1. a peer or consort
  2. a mate or spouse

Alternative Forms

ˈmakeless adjective

Word Origin

Old English gemaca mate; related to matchOld English mate; related to 1

Quotations

  • "God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another" William Shakespeare
  • "Most women are not so young as they are painted" Max Beerbohm

Translations

  • British English: make Pronunciation for make The make of a product is the name of the company that made it....a certain make of watch.meɪk NOUN ...a certain make of watch.
  • Spanish: fabricación Pronunciation for fabricación nf
  • French: marque Pronunciation for marque nf
  • German: Machart Pronunciation for Machart nf
  • Chinese: 制造Pronunciation for 制造 n
  • Arabic: مَاركَةٌPronunciation for مَاركَةٌ n
  • Portuguese: marcaPronunciation for marca nf
  • Russian: маркаPronunciation for марка nf
  • Croatian: markaPronunciation for marka nf
  • Czech: značkaPronunciation for značka nf
  • Danish: tilvirkningPronunciation for tilvirkning nutr
  • Dutch: modelPronunciation for model nnt
  • Finnish: tuotemerkkiPronunciation for tuotemerkki n
  • Greek: μάρκαPronunciation for μάρκα nf
  • Italian: fatturaPronunciation for fattura nf
  • Japanese: ･･･製Pronunciation for ･･･製 n
  • Korean: 제조Pronunciation for 제조 n
  • Norwegian: merkePronunciation for merke nnt
  • Polish: markaPronunciation for marka nf
  • Brazilian Portuguese: marcaPronunciation for marca nf
  • European Spanish: fabricación Pronunciation for fabricación nf
  • Swedish: märkePronunciation for märke nnt
  • Thai: ผู้ผลิตPronunciation for ผู้ผลิต n
  • Turkish: yapımPronunciation for yapım n
  • Vietnamese: nhãn hiệuPronunciation for nhãn hiệu n
  • British English: make Pronunciation for make You can use make to show that a person does or says something.He made a phone call.meɪk VERB He made a phone call.
  • Spanish: hacer Pronunciation for hacer v
  • French: fabriquer Pronunciation for fabriquer vt
  • German: machen Pronunciation for machen v
  • Chinese: 发表Pronunciation for 发表 v
  • Arabic: يَصْنَعPronunciation for يَصْنَع v
  • Portuguese: fazerPronunciation for fazer v
  • Russian: изготавливатьPronunciation for изготавливать v
  • Croatian: izraditiPronunciation for izraditi v
  • Czech: vyrobitPronunciation for vyrobit v vyrábět
  • Danish: lavePronunciation for lave v
  • Dutch: makenPronunciation for maken v
  • Finnish: tehdäPronunciation for tehdä v
  • Greek: κατασκευάζωPronunciation for κατασκευάζω v
  • Italian: farePronunciation for fare v
  • Japanese: 作るPronunciation for 作る v
  • Korean: 만들다Pronunciation for 만들다 v
  • Norwegian: lagePronunciation for lage v
  • Polish: zrobićPronunciation for zrobić v robić
  • Brazilian Portuguese: fazerPronunciation for fazer v
  • European Spanish: hacer Pronunciation for hacer v
  • Swedish: göraPronunciation for göra v
  • Thai: ทำPronunciation for ทำ v
  • Turkish: yapmakPronunciation for yapmak v
  • Vietnamese: chế tạoPronunciation for chế tạo v
  • British English: make If you make something, you put it together or build it from other things.She makes all her own clothes.meɪk VERB She makes all her own clothes.
  • French: faire vt
  • Arabic: يَصْنَعُ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: fazer vt
  • British English: make If you make a person do something, they must do it.Mum made me clean the bathroom.meɪk VERB Mum made me clean the bathroom.
  • French: faire v + [verb infinitive]
  • Arabic: يَجْعَلُ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: obrigar vt

Usage examples

  • I could make out the shape of the bone underneath the skin, parched by the sun.
    Hugo Wilcken, THE EXECUTION (2002)
  • I enjoyed good views of a middle-spotted, glimpsed a black, but had to make do with hearing, rather than seeing, a grey-headed.
    Country Life (2004)
  • At Barcelona we will have the opportunity to assess our performance on the many and varied elements that make up the Lisbon Agenda.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Ramsay, however, refused to lie down on his home patch and slowly began to make inroads on Gill's advantage.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • But the loathing was not strong enough to make him stop: the masochism would appear to have been as pleasurable as the conquest.
    Jim Leavesley, George Biro, THE MEDICAL MYSTERIES E-OMNIBUS (2001)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'M'

Related Terms

120 results

View more related terms

Browse nearby words

Browse dictionary