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Meaning of make in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /meɪk/

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  1. Verb

    make

    Etymology

    Old English macian, of West Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘fitting’; related to match

    Definitions

    1. engage in

    Examples

    • « make love, not war »
    • « make an effort »
    • « do research »
    • « do nothing »
    • « make revolution »
  2. 2. give certain properties to something

    Examples

    • « 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 »
  3. 3. make or cause to be or to become

    Examples

    • « make a mess in one's office »
    • « create a furor »
  4. 4. cause to do

    Examples

    • « cause to act in a specified manner »
    • « 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 »
  5. 5. give rise to

    Examples

    • « cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally »
    • « cause a commotion »
    • « make a stir »
    • « cause an accident »
  6. 6. create or manufacture a man-made product

    Examples

    • « We produce more cars than we can sell »
    • « The company has been making toys for two centuries »
  7. 7. make, formulate, or derive in the mind

    Examples

    • « I draw a line here »
    • « draw a conclusion »
    • « draw parallels »
    • « make an estimate »
    • « What do you make of his remarks? »
  8. 8. compel or make somebody or something to act in a certain way

    Examples

    • « People cannot be made to integrate just by passing a law! »
    • « Heat makes you sweat »
  9. 9. create by artistic means

    Examples

    • « create a poem »
    • « Schoenberg created twelve-tone music »
    • « Picasso created Cubism »
    • « Auden made verses »
  10. 10. earn on some commercial or business transaction

    Examples

    • « earn as salary or wages »
    • « 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 »
  11. 11. create or design, often in a certain way

    Examples

    • « Do my room in blue »
    • « I did this piece in wood to express my love for the forest »

    Antonyms

    • unmake
    • undo
  12. 12. to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"

    Examples

    • « The branches made a roof »
    • « This makes a fine introduction »
  13. 13. reach a goal, e.g., "make the first team"

    Examples

    • « We made it! »
    • « She may not make the grade »
  14. 14. be or be capable of being changed or made into

    Examples

    • « He makes a great host »
    • « He will make a fine father »
  15. 15. make by shaping or bringing together constituents

    Examples

    • « make a dress »
    • « make a cake »
    • « make a wall of stones »
  16. 16. perform or carry out

    Examples

    • « make a decision »
    • « make a move »
    • « make advances »
    • « make a phone call »
  17. 17. make by combining materials and parts

    Examples

    • « this little pig made his house out of straw »
    • « Some eccentric constructed an electric brassiere warmer »
  18. 18. change from one form into another

    Examples

    • « make water into wine »
    • « make lead into gold »
    • « make clay into bricks »
  19. 19. act in a certain way so as to acquire

    Examples

    • « make friends »
    • « make enemies »
  20. 20. charge with a function

    Examples

    • « charge to be »
    • « She was named Head of the Committee »
    • « She was made president of the club »
  21. 21. achieve a point or goal

    Examples

    • « Nicklaus had a 70 »
    • « The Brazilian team got 4 goals »
    • « She made 29 points that day »
  22. 22. reach a destination, either real or abstract

    Examples

    • « 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 »
  23. 23. institute, enact, or establish

    Examples

    • « make laws »
  24. 24. carry out or commit

    Examples

    • « make a mistake »
    • « commit a faux-pas »
  25. 25. add up to

    Examples

    • « four and four make eight »
  26. 26. form by assembling individuals or constituents

    Examples

    • « Make a quorum »
    • « The branches made a roof »
  27. 27. organize or be responsible for

    Examples

    • « hold a reception »
    • « have, throw, or make a party »
    • « give a course »
  28. 28. prepare for eating by applying heat

    Examples

    • « Cook me dinner, please »
    • « can you make me an omelette? »
    • « fix breakfast for the guests, please »
  29. 29. put in order or neaten

    Examples

    • « make the bed »
    • « make up a room »
  30. 30. head into a specified direction

    Examples

    • « The escaped convict took to the hills »
    • « We made for the mountains »
  31. 31. have a bowel movement

    Examples

    • « The dog had made in the flower beds »
  32. 32. undergo fabrication or creation

    Examples

    • « This wool makes into a nice sweater »
  33. 33. be suitable for

    Examples

    • « Wood makes good furniture »
  34. 34. amount to

    Examples

    • « This salary increase makes no difference to my standard of living »
  35. 35. constitute the essence of

    Examples

    • « Clothes make the man »
  36. 36. appear to begin an activity

    Examples

    • « He made to speak but said nothing i the end »
    • « She made a if to say hello to us »
  37. 37. proceed along a path

    Examples

    • « work one's way through the crowd »
    • « make one's way into the forest »
  38. 38. reach in time

    Examples

    • « We barely made the plane »
  39. 39. gather and light the materials for

    Examples

    • « make a fire »
  40. 40. induce to have sex

    Examples

    • « Harry finally seduced Sally »
    • « Did you score last night? »
    • « Harry made Sally »
  41. 41. assure the success of

    Examples

    • « A good review by this critic will make your play! »

    Antonyms

    • break
  42. 42. represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like

    Examples

    • « She makes like an actress »
  43. 43. consider as being

    Examples

    • « It wasn't the problem some people made it »
  44. 44. calculate as being

    Examples

    • « I make the height about 100 feet »
  45. 45. cause to be enjoyable or pleasurable

    Examples

    • « make my day »
  46. 46. favor the development of

    Examples

    • « Practice makes the winner »
  47. 47. develop into

    Examples

    • « He will make a splendid father! »
  48. 48. behave in a certain way

    Examples

    • « make merry »
  49. 49. eliminate urine

    Examples

    • « Again, the cat had made on the expensive rug »
  50. Noun

    make

    Definitions

    1. a recognizable kind

    Examples

    • « there's a new brand of hero in the movies now »
    • « what make of car is that? »
  51. 2. the act of mixing cards haphazardly

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