# make up

Pronunciation: say "mayk-UP" /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/

## Phrasal verb

1. To invent or fabricate a story, excuse, claim, or the like.
   - Simple: To invent a story or excuse that is not true.
   - _The witness later admitted she had made up the entire account._
   - _Advertisers sometimes make up statistics that no study ever produced._
2. To be the components that together constitute a whole.
   - Simple: To be the parts that together form a whole.
   - _Immigrants and their children make up nearly a quarter of the city's population._
   - _The alloy is made up of copper, tin, and a trace of zinc._
3. To resolve or settle an argument, dispute, or fight, as with the person one has fallen out with.
   - Simple: To become friends again after a fight or argument.
   - _The partners made up their differences and reopened the shop together._
   - _She refused to make up with him until he apologized in front of everyone._
4. To compensate for a loss, shortfall, or fault.
   - Simple: To do something good to balance out something bad or missing.
   - _The hotel offered a free night to make up for the broken air conditioning._
   - _Higher exports made up for weak demand at home._
5. To apply cosmetics to a face or facial feature, one's own or someone else's.
   - Simple: To put makeup on your face or on someone's face.
   - _The stylist made up the model's eyes in shades of bronze and gold._
   - _Most mornings she has ten minutes to shower, dress, and make up._
6. To compensate for a deficiency or shortfall, or to supply what is missing.
   - Simple: To replace or supply something that is missing, such as lost time.
   - _The runner made up nearly ten seconds over the final lap._
   - _Students who miss an exam can make up the credit over the summer._
8. To prepare or assemble something, such as a dish, a medicine, or a garment, into its finished form.
   - Simple: To put things together to make something, like a meal, a medicine, or clothes.
   - _The pharmacist will make up the prescription while you wait._
   - _The club had matching jackets made up for the whole team._
9. To compile or draw up a list, document, or similar record.
   - Simple: To write or put together a list or a document.
   - _Before each shift the manager makes up a roster of who works where._
   - _Volunteers make up a list of donors every spring for the annual report._
10. To prepare a performer for a theatrical performance using costume, cosmetics, and the like.
   - Simple: To get an actor ready for a show with costume and makeup.
   - _The crew made up the lead actor to look twenty years older for the final act._
   - _An hour before curtain, the chorus members make up in a shared dressing room._
12. To court someone's favor or affection with friendly or romantic advances.
   - Simple: To be very friendly to someone to win their affection or approval.
   - _The young clerk made up to the owner's daughter all summer without result._
   - _Politicians make up to voters before an election and forget them afterward._

## Noun · make-up

Pronunciation: say "MAYK-up" /ˈmeɪk ʌp/

7. Alternative spelling of makeup. — Alternative spelling of makeup. See usage notes there.
   - Simple: Alternative spelling of makeup. It means the same thing and is written with a hyphen.
   - _The chemical make-up of the soil determines which crops will grow there._
   - _Stage make-up has to be heavier than everyday cosmetics to read under bright lights._

## Adjective · make-up

Pronunciation: say "MAYK-up" /ˈmeɪk ʌp/

11. Connected with a reconciliation after a quarrel or fight. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Connected with making peace after a fight or argument.
   - _The make-up call after their fight lasted two hours and ended in laughter._
   - _They had a make-up drink at the bar where the quarrel had started._

## Phrasal verb

13. To draw near to someone or something, coming up to them. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To come close to someone, walking up to them.
14. To arrange a marriage, or to bring about a treaty. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To arrange a marriage, or to set up a treaty between countries.
15. To build or construct something, such as a tower or a city. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To build something big, like a tower or a city.
16. To build up a bank, wall, or similar structure again where it has fallen away, repairing it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To build up a wall or bank again where part of it has fallen down, to repair it.
   - _After the storm, crews made up the sea wall where the waves had torn it away._
   - _Gardeners make up the hedge where cattle have broken through._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Invented or imaginary rather than real.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6, 8–10, 12–16** — From Middle English maken up, formed from make + the adverb up.
**Meanings 7, 11** — Formed from the phrasal verb make up.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/make-up (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).