IDM

make Definitions and Synonyms

verb

UK /meɪk/

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	make
he/she/it	makes
present participle	making
past tense	made
past participle	made

1
transitive to create or produce something by working
Jane made coffee while the guests were finishing their dessert.
She makes all her own clothes.
made in:
This furniture is made in South America.
make something from something:
They make paper from old rags.
make something out of something:
We made curtains out of some old material we found.
made (out) of something:
a bowl made of metal/plastic/wood
make someone something:
Joan made me a beautiful dress for my wedding.
make something about someone/something:
They’re making a TV programme about the case.
Synonyms and related words
To make something start to exist or happen
bring about
trigger
form
...
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2
transitive to cause something to be formed by breaking, cutting, or tearing an object or by pushing one object into or through another
make a hole/scratch/dent etc in something:
Something’s made a scratch in the counter.
Synonyms and related words
To make something start to exist or happen
bring about
trigger
form
...
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3
transitive used with some nouns for showing that someone performs the action referred to by the noun
Over 340 arrests were made.
make an attempt/effort:
Helen made no attempt to stop him.
make a decision:
No one wanted to make a clear decision on the project.
make a mistake/error:
Nobody’s perfect – we all make mistakes.
make progress:
We’ve made some progress, but there’s still a long way to go.
make a change/alteration/adjustment etc:
People can eat more healthily without making major changes to their diet.
make a contribution:
This study makes an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the disease.
make a noise/sound:
Stop making so much noise!
make a note of something (=keep a written record of something):
Matthew made a note of the car’s number and informed the police.
Synonyms and related words
To do something
do
perform
conduct
...
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1. 3a
  used with some nouns for showing that someone says something
  make a statement/suggestion/complaint etc:
  The minister will make a statement on that issue later today.
  Synonyms and related words
  General words meaning to say something
  say
  talk
  speak
  ...
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4
transitive to cause someone or something to be in a particular state or to change to another state
make someone do something:
This film always makes me cry.
make yourself heard/understood etc:
I know enough Japanese to make myself understood.
make something difficult/easy etc:
The noise in the school makes learning difficult.
make someone feel ill/sad/strange etc:
The smell of fish makes me feel ill.
make someone look fat/thin/younger etc:
That haircut makes you look ten years younger.
make someone happy/sad/angry etc:
Listening to the news just makes me angry these days.
make something nice/pretty/attractive etc:
I want to make the place nice for when they arrive.
make someone famous/popular etc:
It was television that made her so popular.
make it clear/obvious/plain etc (that):
I’d like to make it clear that I had nothing to do with this.
make it known/understood (that):
She made it known that she was the mayor’s wife.
make someone something:
They made him head teacher after Joanne left.
Synonyms and related words
To have an effect
shape
impact
affect
...
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5
transitive to force someone to do something
I’m not going to apologize and you can’t make me!
make someone do something:
They made us work for 12 hours a day.
They made him tell the truth by depriving him of food.
be made to do something:
We were made to learn fifty new words every week.
Synonyms and related words
To nag or force someone to do something
nag
force
compel
...
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6
transitive to arrange or organize something
make an appointment/date:
I’ve made an appointment for you with the doctor for tomorrow morning.
Synonyms and related words
To create order in a system or activity
structure
reorganize
prioritize
...
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7
transitive to earn or get money
She makes about £2,000 a month.
make money:
You can make a lot of money playing the stock market.
make a living (=make enough money to buy the things that you need):
Can you make a living from painting?
make a profit:
The company made a small profit in its first year.
Synonyms and related words
To earn a particular amount of money
generate
get
get back
...
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8
linking verb to give a particular total when added together
Four and two make six.
Synonyms and related words
To add up to a total
add up
come to
amount to
...
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1. 8a
  transitive to decide that something gives a particular total when calculating an amount
  I make that £750 after tax.
  Synonyms and related words
  To calculate or count
  calculate
  count
  estimate
  ...
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9
transitive to cause something to be successful
It was the children’s choir that really made the performance.
Synonyms and related words
To succeed in doing something
succeed
manage
pull off
...
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10
linking verb to have the right qualities for a particular job, purpose etc
Diane would make a good teacher – she’s so patient.
Don’t you think the novel would make a great film?
Synonyms and related words
Linking verbs
appear
be
become
...
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11
transitive to reach a particular place, especially so that there is time to do something
At this rate we won’t make Jedda before midnight.
Dan just managed to make his 7 o’clock flight to Toronto.
Synonyms and related words
To arrive in a place, or to enter a place
arrive
enter
reach
...
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1. 11a
  to be able to be present at a particular event
  We can’t make the conference after all.
  Synonyms and related words
  To take part, or to become involved
  join in
  participate
  involve
  ...
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12
transitive to succeed in achieving something by reaching the necessary level or standard
We’ve made our target of 10,000 sales this month.
make a deadline:
They’ll never make the deadline now that the computers have crashed.
make the headlines/papers/news etc (=be important enough to be reported):
Their search for a heart donor made the headlines in April.
make a team/squad (=be chosen for it):
Dawson has failed to make the team for Saturday’s big match.
Synonyms and related words
To succeed in doing something
succeed
manage
pull off
...
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