# make

Pronunciation: say "MAYK" /meɪk/

## Verb

1. To build, construct, produce, or bring something into being.
   - Simple: To create something, for example by building it or putting parts together.
   - _The factory makes two thousand cars a week._
   - _She wants to make something with her hands._
2. To carry out, perform, or bring about an action or state named by the noun that follows: make a decision, make a dash, make peace.
   - Simple: To do the action that the next word names, as in make a choice, make a mistake, or make a phone call.
   - _She made a dash for the door._
   - _The goalkeeper had to make a fine save._
3. To cause someone or something to be or seem a certain way, with an object and an adjective, noun, or participle.
   - Simple: To cause someone or something to become or seem a certain way, as in the news made me sad.
   - _The rain made the road impassable._
   - _Too much salt will make the soup inedible._
4. To cause or compel someone to do something, with a person and a bare verb.
   - Simple: To force or cause someone to do something.
   - _The teacher made us rewrite the whole essay._
   - _Nothing will make him change his mind._
5. To prepare or cook food or drink.
   - Simple: To cook or prepare something to eat or drink.
   - _He made pancakes for the whole team._
   - _Who's going to make the sandwiches?_
6. To constitute, amount to, or be enough to count as something.
   - Simple: To form something, add up to an amount, or be enough to count as something.
   - _Four of these make a set._
   - _Two wrongs don't make a right._
7. To earn or gain money, points, a place in a team, or a status.
   - Simple: To earn or win money, points, or a place.
   - _He makes more in a month than I do in a year._
   - _Only two swimmers will make the final._
8. To reach a place or get to an event, often by a stated time. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To reach a place or event, often by a certain time.
   - _If we hurry we'll make the last train._
   - _She made the meeting with minutes to spare._
9. To write, draw up, or compose.
   - Simple: To write or compose something, like a poem or a will.
   - _Before the voyage he made his will._
   - _The committee was asked to make a report by June._
10. To turn out to be, or have the qualities for.
   - Simple: To turn out to be something, or have what it takes.
   - _These apples make a lovely pie._
   - _He'll never make a soldier._
11. Of a bed, to arrange the sheets and covers neatly, either to tidy it or to get it ready for sleeping.
   - Simple: To tidy a bed and put the covers straight.
   - _He never makes his bed._
   - _I'll make the bed and open the window._
12. To appoint or name someone to an office or rank.
   - Simple: To give someone a certain job or rank.
   - _The king made him a knight on the spot._
   - _The board is expected to make him chief executive in June._
13. To form or work out in the mind.
   - Simple: To form an idea or plan in your mind.
   - _She made a mental note of the address._
   - _Don't make assumptions about people._
14. To tend toward a result or have an effect on it, either helping it (with for) or working against it (with against).
   - Simple: To help bring about a result, or to work against it, used with for or against.
   - _Short, focused meetings make for a more productive team._
   - _Several factors make against an early settlement of the dispute._
15. To cover a stated distance or travel at a stated speed.
   - Simple: To travel a certain distance or go at a certain speed.
   - _The caravan made forty miles between wells._
   - _They could make the crossing in a day if the wind held._
16. To head or proceed in a direction. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To go or head in a certain direction.
   - _The boat made toward the harbor mouth._
   - _We'd better make for the nearest shelter._
17. Usually with stress, to bring someone to success or be the cause of it.
   - Simple: To bring someone success, or be the reason for it.
   - _That role made her, and she never looked back._
   - _A win here would make his season._
19. To interpret, judge or reckon something, usually in a question and often with of.
   - Simple: To understand or judge something, in what do you make of it?
   - _Nobody could make head or tail of the message._
   - _What time do you make it? Nearly four._
20. To enact or establish, especially a law.
   - Simple: To pass a law or set up a rule.
   - _Parliament made new laws to protect factory workers._
   - _Who gets to make the rules around here?_
21. To pay or cover an expense, chiefly after can't or an expression of inability.
   - Simple: To be able to pay a bill or cost, often after 'can't'.
   - _Half the tenants couldn't make the rent that winter._
   - _The firm scraped together enough to make the payment._
22. In dated slang, to have sex with, or seduce.
   - Simple: To have sex with someone, or to seduce them.
24. To behave or act in a particular way. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To do things or behave in a certain way.
   - _Stop making like you don't care._
   - _When the teacher asked who had broken the window, Danny tried to make like he was busy with homework._
25. In police and criminal slang, to pick out someone or something and recognize who or what it is. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: In police and crime slang, to see someone or something and know who or what it is.
   - _Keep two cars back; if the driver makes us, the whole operation is blown._
   - _Undercover officers swap jackets and hats so the people they follow can't make them._

## Noun

18. The manufacturer or brand of a product, especially a vehicle.
   - Simple: The company or brand that produced something, especially a car.
   - _The garage keeps parts for every make of van._
   - _It's a foreign make, so repairs take longer._
23. The manner or style of a thing's construction, its build or workmanship.
   - Simple: The way something is made, its style or build.
   - _The chairs are of fine make, with every joint pegged by hand._
   - _The two swords looked alike, but one was of far better make._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In computing, a utility that builds a large program automatically from its source files, following rules in a makefile.
- (verb) To formally admit someone as a full member of the Mafia or another crime family.
- (verb) To pass urine or feces.
- (verb) To create poems.
- (verb) To attract enough people, such as students, viewers or readers, to justify going ahead or continuing.
- (verb) To act or busy oneself, especially to take part or meddle, chiefly in the phrase meddle or make.
- (verb) To grow or build up in amount.
- (verb) To be involved in something or have a part in it.
- (verb) Used after what in a question to ask why someone is in a place, as in "What makes you here?"
- (verb) To be someone's first sexual partner.
- (verb) Of the tide, to come in and rise toward the shore.
- (verb) To secure a backgammon point by placing at least two of your own pieces on it, so it cannot be hit.
- (noun) The origin or production of a product, as in 'of German make' or 'of recent make'.
- (noun) What someone is like inside, their basic temperament.
- (noun) Production of goods, especially by factory methods.
- (noun) The output of a factory or process, measured by how much is turned out.
- (noun) Recognizing who a person is or what a thing is, especially with the help of police files or other evidence.
- (noun) A move up to a higher rank or job.
- (noun) A craft item put together at home, typically as shown on a TV program.
- (noun) In bridge, a player's turn to name trumps, or the turn to shuffle the deck.
- (noun) A successful basketball shot that goes through the hoop.
- (noun) The point at which an electrical circuit is completed, letting current flow.
- (noun) A person, usually a woman, whom someone has seduced or hopes to seduce.
- (noun) A partner, such as a husband, wife or close companion, or an equal match.
- (noun) A British coin worth half a penny.
- (noun) A hooked, scythe-like farm tool once used to reap peas, reeds and similar crops.

## Origin

Old English macian ("to make, build, work") became Middle English maken. It goes back through Proto-West Germanic *makōn and Proto-Germanic *makaz ("fit, suitable"), and perhaps to the Proto-Indo-European root *meh₂ǵ- ("to knead"). The word is related to "match", and Dutch maken and German machen are cognates.

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