meɪk v. & n. --v. (past
and past part. made) 1 tr.
construct;
create;
form from parts or
other substances (made a
table;
made it
out of
cardboard; made
him a sweater). 2 tr. (foll. by to + infin.)
cause or
compel (a
person etc.) to do
something (make him
repeat it;
was made to confess). 3 tr. a cause to
exist; create;
bring about (made a
noise; made an enemy). b cause to
become or
seem (made an
exhibition of
myself; made him angry). c
appoint;
designate (made him a Cardinal). 4 tr.
compose;
prepare;
draw up (made
her will; made a
film about Japan). 5 tr.
constitute;
amount to (makes a
difference; 2 and 2 make 4;
this makes
the tenth time). 6 tr. a
undertake or
agree to (an
aim or purpose) (made a
promise; make an effort). b
execute or
perform (a
bodily movement, a
speech, etc.) (made a
face; made a bow). 7 tr.
gain,
acquire,
procure (money, a
profit, etc.) (made ø20,000 on the deal). 8 tr. prepare (tea,
coffee, a
dish, etc.)
for consumption (made egg and chips). 9 tr. a
arrange bedclothes tidily on (a bed)
ready for
use. b arrange and
light materials for (a fire). 10 intr. a
proceed (made
towards the river). b (foll. by to + infin.)
begin an
action (he made to go). 11 tr. colloq. a
arrive at (a place) or in
time for (a
train etc.) (made the
border before dark; made the
six o'clock train). b
manage to
attend; manage to attend on (a
certain day) or at (a certain time) (couldn't make the
meeting last
week; can make
any day except Friday). c
achieve a
place in (made the
first eleven; made the six o'clock news). d US achieve the rank of (made
colonel in
three years). 12 tr.
establish or
enact (a
distinction,
rule,
law, etc.). 13 tr.
consider to
be;
estimate as (what do
you make the time?; do you make
that a 1 or a 7?). 14 tr.
secure the
success or
advancement of (his
mother made him; it made my day). 15 tr.
accomplish (a
distance,
speed,
score, etc.) (made 60 m.p.h. on the motorway). 16 tr. a become by
development or
training (made a
great leader). b
serve as (a log makes a
useful seat). 17 tr. (usu. foll. by out)
represent as; cause to
appear as (makes him out a liar). 18 tr. form in the
mind;
feel (I make no judgement). 19 tr. (foll. by it + compl.) a
determine, establish, or
choose (let's make it
Tuesday; made it my
business to know). b bring to (a
chosen value etc.) (decided to make it a dozen). 20 tr. sl.
have sexual relations
with. 21 tr. Cards a
win (a trick). b
play (a card) to
advantage. c win the
number of tricks that fulfils (a contract). d
shuffle (a pack of cards) for dealing. 22 tr. Cricket score (runs). 23 tr. Electr.
complete or close (a circuit) (opp. BREAK). 24 intr. (of the tide) begin to
flow or
ebb. --n. 1 (esp. of a product) a
type,
origin,
brand, etc. of
manufacture (different make of
car;
our own make). 2 a kind of
mental,
moral, or
physical structure or
composition. 3 an
act of shuffling cards. 4 Electr. a the
making of
contact. b the
position in
which this is made. øbe made for be ideally suited
to. be made of
consist of (cake made of marzipan). have it made colloq. be
sure of success. made dish a dish prepared from
several separate foods. made
man a man
who has attained success. made of
money colloq.
very rich. made road a
properly surfaced road of
tarmac,
concrete, etc. made to
measure (of a
suit etc.) made to a
specific customer's measurements. made to
order see ORDER. make
after archaic pursue. make
against be
unfavourable to. make as if (or though) (foll. by to + infin. or conditional) act as if the specified circumstances
applied (made as if to leave; made as if he
would hit me; made as if I
had not noticed). make
away (or off)
depart hastily. make away with 1
get rid of;
kill. 2
squander. make-believe (or -belief) 1
pretence. 2 pretended. make
believe pretend. make
conversation talk politely. make a day (or
night etc.) of it
devote a
whole day (or night etc.) to an
activity. make do 1 manage with the
limited or
inadequate means available. 2 (foll. by with) manage with (something) as an
inferior substitute. make an
example of
punish as a
warning to others. make a fool of see
FOOL(1). make for 1 tend to
result in (happiness etc.). 2 proceed towards (a place). 3
assault;
attack. 4
confirm (an opinion). make friends (often foll. by with) become
friendly. make
fun of see FUN. make
good see GOOD. make a
habit of see HABIT. make a hash of see
HASH(1). make hay see
HAY(1). make
head or tail of see HEAD. make a
House Polit. secure the
presence of
enough members for a
quorum or
support in the House of
Commons. make it colloq. 1
succeed in reaching,
esp. in time. 2 be
successful. 3 (usu. foll. by with) sl. have sexual
intercourse (with). make it up 1 be reconciled, esp. after a quarrel. 2
fill in a
deficit. make it up to
remedy negligence, an
injury, etc. to (a person). make light of see
LIGHT(2). make
love see LOVE. make a meal of see
MEAL(1). make
merry see MERRY. make money acquire
wealth or an
income. make the
most of see MOST. make
much (or
little or the best) of 1
derive much (or little etc.) advantage from. 2
give much (or little etc.)
attention,
importance,
etc., to. make a
name for
oneself see NAME. make no bones about see
BONE. make
nothing of 1 do
without hesitation. 2
treat as a
trifle. 3 be
unable to
understand, use, or deal with. make of 1 construct from. 2
conclude to be the
meaning or
character of (can you make
anything of it?). make
off = make away. make off with
carry away;
steal. make oneself
scarce see SCARCE. make or break (or mar) cause the success or
ruin of. make out 1 a
distinguish by
sight or
hearing. b
decipher (handwriting etc.). 2 understand (can't make him out). 3
assert; pretend (made out he liked it). 4 colloq. make
progress;
fare (how
did you make out?). 5 (usu. foll. by to, in
favour of) draw
up;
write out (made out a
cheque to her). 6
prove or
try to prove (how do you make that out?). make
over 1
transfer the
possession of (a thing) to a person. 2
refashion (a
garment etc.). make a
point of see POINT. make
sail Naut. 1
spread a sail or sails. 2
start a
voyage. make
shift see SHIFT. make so
bold as to see BOLD. make time 1 (usu. foll. by for or to + infin.)
find an
occasion when time is available. 2 (usu. foll. by with) esp. US sl. make sexual advances (to a person). make-up 1 cosmetics for the face etc.,
either generally or to create an actor's
appearance or
disguise. 2 the appearance of the face etc. when cosmetics have
been applied (his make-up was not convincing). 3
Printing the making up of a type. 4 Printing the type made up. 5 a person's character,
temperament, etc. 6 the composition or
constitution (of a thing). make up 1 serve or act to
overcome (a deficiency). 2 complete (an amount, a party, etc.). 3
compensate. 4 be reconciled. 5 put
together; compound; prepare (made up the medicine). 6
sew (parts of a garment etc.) together. 7 get (a
sum of money, a
company, etc.) together. 8
concoct (a story). 9 (of parts) compose (a whole). 10 a
apply cosmetics. b apply cosmetics to. 11 settle (a dispute). 12 prepare (a bed) for use with
fresh sheets etc. 13 Printing arrange (type) in pages. 14
compile (a list, an
account, a
document, etc.). 15 arrange (a
marriage etc.). make up one's mind
decide,
resolve. make up to curry favour with;
court. make
water 1
urinate. 2 (of a ship)
take in water. make
way 1 (often foll. by for)
allow room for others to proceed. 2 achieve progress. make one's way proceed. make with US colloq. supply; perform; proceed with (made with the
feet and left in a hurry). on the make colloq. 1
intent on gain. 2 looking for sexual partners.
self-made man etc. a man etc. who has succeeded by
his own efforts. øømakable adj. [OE macian f. WG: rel. to MATCH(1)]