Meaning of make in English

be made for sb/sth
be made of money
do you want to make something/anything of it?
make sth up as you go along
make a day/night/evening/weekend of it
make as if to do sth
make do
make it (to the top)
make it quick/fast
make it up to sb

More idioms

make it with sb
make like
make much/a lot of sb
make much of sth
make or break sth
be make or break for sb/sth
make time
make to do sth
what sb is (really) made of

Phrasal verbs

make for somewhere/sth
make for sth
make sth into sth
make sth/sb of sth/sb
make sth of sth
make off
make off with sth
make sth/sb out
make sth out
make out sth

More phrasal verbs

make out
make sb/sth over
make sth over to sb
make toward sth/sb
make sth up
make sb/sth up
make up sth
make up
make up for sth
make up to sb
make with sth

make

noun [ C ]

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/meɪk/ uk

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/meɪk/

a type of product or the name of the company that made it:

What make is your laptop?

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Products & producers

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Idiom

be on the make

(Definition of make from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

make | Intermediate English

make

verb

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/meɪk/

past tense and past participle made us/meɪd/

make verb (PRODUCE)

[ T ]

to bring something into existence, esp. using a particular substance or material; produce:

Does that company make computers?

Butter is made from cream.

My wedding ring is made of gold.

He made us some coffee.

make verb (CAUSE)

[ T ]

to cause something:

The kids made a mess in the kitchen.

Don’t make any noise.

make verb (CAUSE TO BE)

[ T ]

to cause something to be, become, or appear in a particular way:

If you open some windows, you’ll make it cooler.

He said something that made her angry.

We can sit closer together and make room (= provide space) for one more.

We’re making our attic into a spare bedroom.

make verb (PERFORM)

[ T ]

to perform an action:

I’ve got to make a (phone) call to Ricardo.

We must make a decision by tomorrow.

Someone has made a mistake.

Latisha is making progress in her reading.

Can I make a suggestion?

We might as well make use of the car, since we’ve got it for the whole weekend.

make the bed

To make the bed is to put sheets and covers on a bed so that someone can sleep in it, or to straighten them after it has been slept in.

make verb (FORCE)

[ T ]

to force someone or something to do something:

Ambition will make you get up off your sofa and go out and work for what you want.

make verb (BE OR BECOME)

[ L ]

to be or become something, esp. by having the necessary characteristics:

I don’t think he will ever make a good lawyer.

Hector and Wanda make a delightful couple.

He worked really hard, but he didn’t make the team (= was not chosen to be a member of it).

make verb (TOTAL)

[ L ]

to add up to (a total):

6 and 6 make 12.

make verb (EARN)

[ T ]

to earn or get:

She makes $70,000 a year.

Can you make a living as a painter?

make verb (ARRIVE)

[ T ] infml

to arrive at or reach:

We should make Whitefish Bay by nightfall.

He made it to the bed and then collapsed.

maker

noun [ C ] us

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/ˈmeɪ·kər/

The makers of music videos show a fantasy world.

Idioms

make a beeline for something
make a (big) difference
make a face (at someone/something)
make a fool (out) of someone
make a habit of something
make a mountain out of a molehill
make a point of doing something
make someone's acquaintance
make allowances for something
make believe

More idioms

make someone’s blood boil
make someone's day
make do (with something)
make ends meet
make fun of someone
make good
make good on something
make good time
(not) make heads or tails of something
make headway
make it (big)
make light of something
make love
make much of something
make no apologies
make no bones about
make no difference
make or break something
make sense
make short work of someone/something
make sure
make that something
make the grade (as something)
make the most of something
make time
make up for lost time
make up your mind
make waves
make way for something
on the make

Phrasal verbs

make for somewhere/something
make something of something/someone
make someone/yourself/something out
make over someone/something
make out something
make out something/someone
make out
make out
make something up to someone
make up for something

More phrasal verbs

make up something
make up something
make up something
make up something
make up something
make up
make off with something

make

noun [ C ]

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/meɪk/

make noun [C] (PRODUCT)

a particular product, or the name of the company that made it:

What make of air conditioner do you recommend?

(Definition of make from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

make | Business English

make

verb [ T ]

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/meɪk/ us

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made | made

to produce or prepare goods, etc.:

The firm is only a small player in the industry, making around 1,000 vehicles a year.

We make software that allows mobile employees to connect securely to their corporate networks.

made of sth The bottles are made of opaque glass so that the contents cannot be seen.

made from sth All our coffee is made from beans sourced locally.

to earn or receive money:

make money Investors are hoping that one day "green" companies will make serious money.

make $30,000/£500/€75m, etc. The state of Alaska makes around $50 million a year on tobacco taxes.

She makes around £100,000 a year as a dentist.

make sth on sth They made $500,000 in total on the deal.

make a living In this area it's hard to make a living as a gardener.

to do a particular thing:

make a decision/mistake/improvement No major decisions are made without the CEO's approval.

make a deal/purchase/offer The deal includes a $25 million break-up fee, which could encourage other bidders to make a competing offer.

to say something officially or formally:

make a recommendation/statement/judgment The audit makes a series of recommendations.

make an announcement/a comment/a speech Both parties plan to make an announcement before Christmas.

to choose someone as something, or employ someone as something:

He was made Principal Analyst within a year of joining the company.

to cause someone or something to be in a particular state:

In August this year, she was made redundant from her job at the bank after 15 years' service.

make sth available/accessible/user-friendly One of the project's key goals is to make the website available in different languages.

make a market (in sth)

to be ready, willing, and able to buy or sell particular bonds, shares, etc. as a dealer:

Western investment banks are being allowed to make a market in Chinese domestic shares.

make a payment/loan/investment, etc.

to pay, lend, invest, etc. money:

Shareholders may authorize a third party, such as a bank or employer, to make investments directly to their Fund accounts.

make a profit/loss

to earn or lose more money than you spend:

The business made a pre-tax profit of £14.9m last year.

make a go of sth informal

to make something successful:

They spent nearly all their savings trying to make a go of the business.

It has become increasingly difficult for independent operators to make a go of it.

make good informal (also make it (big))

to become rich and successful:

After years of hard work, she finally made good.

Los Angeles is full of people who go there to "make it big" like the stars in Hollywood.

make good a deficit, shortfall, etc.

to reduce the bad effect of there not being enough of something, for example money:

Many employers have been called upon to make good the deficits in their pension plans.

Exports of North Sea oil and gas dried up and failed to make good the shortfall in the manufacturing sector.

make sth good

to pay for or repair something that has been damaged:

The company is not under any liability to make good any damage to the site.

make good on sth

to do something that you have promised to do, for example paying back money that you owe or paying for the cost of damage you have caused:

The company did not acknowledge its future obligation to make good on the losses sustained by its offshore partnerships.

make or break

to cause someone or something either to be very successful, or to cause them to fail:

The first year of trading can make or break a new business.

Phrasal verbs

make out
make sth out
make sth over
make up sth

make

noun [ C ]

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/meɪk/ us

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COMMERCE

the name of a product made by a particular company, rather than by other companies that make similar products:

Depending on the make and model, delivery could take as little as a week.

What make of car do you drive?

See also

brand noun

be on the make disapproving

to be trying very hard to get more money or power for yourself:

Many people assume that politicians are just on the make.

Examples of make

make

Sometimes, it'll make the prices go way up.

From The Atlantic

We haven't made a voting recommendation in 34 years.

From USA TODAY

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples Fewer examples

They will make us strong in months and years to come.

From USA TODAY

Every parent should make sure his or her child realizes that.

From NJ.com

Her wrap, for example, is made of velvet and sari silk.

From CBS News

Thirty-four had made the team or been placed on injured reserve.

From The Denver Post

This plan will make a positive tax ratable for many years.

From NJ.com

And what was that voice made out of?