make Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a recognizable kind
    brand.
    • there's a new brand of hero in the movies now
    • what make of car is that?
  2. noun the act of mixing cards haphazardly
    shuffle; shuffling.
  3. verb engage in
    do.
    • make love, not war
    • make an effort
    • do research
    • do nothing
    • make revolution
  4. verb give certain properties to something
    get.
    • get someone mad
    • She made us look silly
    • He made a fool of himself at the meeting
    • Don't make this into a big deal
    • This invention will make you a millionaire
    • Make yourself clear
  5. verb make or cause to be or to become
    create.
    • make a mess in one's office
    • create a furor
  6. verb cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
    get; induce; have; cause; stimulate.
    • The ads induced me to buy a VCR
    • My children finally got me to buy a computer
    • My wife made me buy a new sofa
  7. verb give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
    do; cause.
    • cause a commotion
    • make a stir
    • cause an accident
  8. verb create or manufacture a man-made product
    produce; create.
    • We produce more cars than we can sell
    • The company has been making toys for two centuries
  9. verb make, formulate, or derive in the mind
    draw.
    • I draw a line here
    • draw a conclusion
    • draw parallels
    • make an estimate
    • What do you make of his remarks?
  10. verb compel or make somebody or something to act in a certain way
    • People cannot be made to integrate just by passing a law!
    • Heat makes you sweat
  11. verb create by artistic means
    create.
    • create a poem
    • Schoenberg created twelve-tone music
    • Picasso created Cubism
    • Auden made verses
  12. verb earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
    earn; bring in; clear; pull in; take in; gain; realise; realize.
    • How much do you make a month in your new job?
    • She earns a lot in her new job
    • this merger brought in lots of money
    • He clears $5,000 each month
  13. verb create or design, often in a certain way
    do.
    • Do my room in blue
    • I did this piece in wood to express my love for the forest
  14. verb to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"
    constitute; form.
    • The branches made a roof
    • This makes a fine introduction
  15. verb reach a goal, e.g., "make the first team"
    progress to; reach; get to.
    • We made it!
    • She may not make the grade
  16. verb be or be capable of being changed or made into
    • He makes a great host
    • He will make a fine father
  17. verb make by shaping or bringing together constituents
    • make a dress
    • make a cake
    • make a wall of stones
  18. verb perform or carry out
    • make a decision
    • make a move
    • make advances
    • make a phone call
  19. verb make by combining materials and parts
    build; construct.
    • this little pig made his house out of straw
    • Some eccentric constructed an electric brassiere warmer
  20. verb change from one form into another
    • make water into wine
    • make lead into gold
    • make clay into bricks
  21. verb act in a certain way so as to acquire
    • make friends
    • make enemies
  22. verb charge with a function; charge to be
    nominate; name.
    • She was named Head of the Committee
    • She was made president of the club
  23. verb achieve a point or goal
    have; get.
    • Nicklaus had a 70
    • The Brazilian team got 4 goals
    • She made 29 points that day
  24. verb reach a destination, either real or abstract
    hit; reach; attain; arrive at; gain.
    • We hit Detroit by noon
    • The water reached the doorstep
    • We barely made it to the finish line
    • I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts
  25. verb institute, enact, or establish
    lay down; establish.
    • make laws
  26. verb carry out or commit
    • make a mistake
    • commit a faux-pas
  27. verb form by assembling individuals or constituents
    • Make a quorum
  28. verb organize or be responsible for
    hold; throw; have; give.
    • hold a reception
    • have, throw, or make a party
    • give a course
  29. verb put in order or neaten
    make up.
    • make the bed
    • make up a room
  30. verb head into a specified direction
    take.
    • The escaped convict took to the hills
    • We made for the mountains
  31. verb have a bowel movement
    take a shit; crap; defecate; stool; ca-ca; take a crap; shit.
    • The dog had made in the flower beds
  32. verb undergo fabrication or creation
    • This wool makes into a nice sweater
  33. verb be suitable for
    • Wood makes good furniture
  34. verb add up to
    • four and four make eight
  35. verb amount to
    • This salary increase makes no difference to my standard of living
  36. verb constitute the essence of
    • Clothes make the man
  37. verb appear to begin an activity
    • He made to speak but said nothing in the end
    • She made as if to say hello to us
  38. verb proceed along a path
    work.
    • work one's way through the crowd
    • make one's way into the forest
  39. verb reach in time
    • We barely made the plane
  40. verb gather and light the materials for
    • make a fire
  41. verb prepare for eating by applying heat
    cook; ready; fix; prepare.
    • Cook me dinner, please
    • can you make me an omelette?
    • fix breakfast for the guests, please
  42. verb induce to have sex
    score; seduce.
    • Harry finally seduced Sally
    • Did you score last night?
    • Harry made Sally
  43. verb assure the success of
    • A good review by this critic will make your play!
  44. verb represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
    pretend; make believe.
    • She makes like an actress
  45. verb consider as being
    • It wasn't the problem some people made it
  46. verb calculate as being
    • I make the height about 100 feet
  47. verb cause to be enjoyable or pleasurable
    • make my day
  48. verb favor the development of
    • Practice makes the winner
  49. verb develop into
    • He will make a splendid father!
  50. verb behave in a certain way
    • make merry
  51. verb eliminate urine
    wee-wee; spend a penny; wee; piddle; micturate; pee-pee; pass water; make water; relieve oneself; take a leak; pee; urinate; puddle; piss.
    • Again, the cat had made on the expensive rug

WordNet

Make noun
Etymology
AS. maca, gemaca. See Match.
Definitions
  1. A companion; a mate; often, a husband or a wife. Obs.
    For in this world no woman is Worthy to be my make. Chaucer.
Make transitive verb
Etymology
OE. maken, makien, AS. macian; akin to OS. makn, OFries. makia, D. maken, G. machen, OHG. mahhn to join, fit, prepare, make, Dan. mage. Cf. Match an equal.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Made ; present participle & verbal noun Making
Definitions
  1. To cause to exist; to bring into being; to form; to produce; to frame; to fashion; to create. Hence, in various specific uses or applications: (a) To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain form; to construct; to fabricate.
    He . . . fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf. Ex. xxxii. 4.
    (b) To produce, as something artificial, unnatural, or false; -- often with up; as, to make up a story.
    And Art, with her contending, doth aspire To excel the natural with made delights. Spenser.
    (c) To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; -- often used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to record; to make abode, for to abide, etc.
    Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. Judg. xvi. 25.
    Wealth maketh many friends. Prov. xix. 4.
    I will neither plead my age nor sickness in excuse of the faults which I have made. Dryden.
    (d) To execute with the requisite formalities; as, to make a bill, note, will, deed, etc. (e) To gain, as the result of one's efforts; to get, as profit; to make acquisition of; to have accrue or happen to one; as, to make a large profit; to make an error; to make a loss; to make money.
    He accuseth Neptune unjustly who makes shipwreck a second time. Bacon.
    (f) To find, as the result of calculation or computation; to ascertain by enumeration; to find the number or amount of, by reckoning, weighing, measurement, and the like; as, he made the distance of; to travel over; as, the ship makes ten knots an hour; he made the distance in one day. (h) To put a desired or desirable condition; to cause to thrive.
    Who makes or ruins with a smile or frown. Dryden.
  2. To cause to be or become; to put into a given state verb, or adjective; to constitute; as, to make known; to make public; to make fast.
    Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Ex. ii. 14.
    See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh. Ex. vii. 1.
    ✍ When used reflexively with an adjective, the reflexive pronoun is often omitted; as, to make merry; to make bold; to make free, etc.
  3. To cause to appear to be; to constitute subjectively; to esteem, suppose, or represent.
    He is not that goose and ass that Valla would make him. Baker.
  4. To require; to constrain; to compel; to force; to cause; to occasion; -- followed by a noun or pronoun and infinitive. ✍ In the active voice the to of the infinitive is usually omitted.
    I will make them hear my words. Deut. iv. 10.
    They should be made to rise at their early hour. Locke.
  5. To become; to be, or to be capable of being, changed or fashioned into; to do the part or office of; to furnish the material for; as, he will make a good musician; sweet cider makes sour vinegar; wool makes warm clothing.
    And old cloak makes a new jerkin. Shak.
  6. To compose, as parts, ingredients, or materials; to constitute; to form; to amount to.
    The heaven, the air, the earth, and boundless sea, Make but one temple for the Deity. Waller.
  7. To be engaged or concerned in. Obs.
    Gomez, what makest thou here, with a whole brotherhood of city bailiffs? Dryden.
  8. To reach; to attain; to arrive at or in sight of. "And make the Libyan shores." Dryden.
    They that sail in the middle can make no land of either side. Sir T. Browne.
Make intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To act in a certain manner; to have to do; to manage; to interfere; to be active; -- often in the phrase to meddle or make. Obs.
    A scurvy, jack-a-nape priest to meddle or make. Shak.
  2. To proceed; to tend; to move; to go; as, he made toward home; the tiger made at the sportsmen. ✍ Formerly, authors used to make on, to make forth, to make about; but these phrases are obsolete. We now say, to make at, to make away, to make for, to make off, to make toward, etc.
  3. To tend; to contribute; to have effect; -- with for or against; as, it makes for his advantage. M. Arnold.
    Follow after the things which make for peace. Rom. xiv. 19.
    Considerations infinite Do make against it. Shak.
  4. To increase; to augment; to accrue.
  5. To compose verses; to write poetry; to versify. Archaic Chaucer. Tennyson.
    To solace him some time, as I do when I make. P. Plowman.
Make noun
Definitions
  1. Structure, texture, constitution of parts; construction; shape; form.
    It our perfection of so frail a make As every plot can undermine and shake? Dryden.

Webster 1913