make

verb

/meɪk/

create

to create or prepare something by combining materials or putting parts together

make something to make a table/dress/cake
to make bread/cement/paper
She makes her own clothes.
How do you make that dish with the peppers and olives in it?
made in France (= on a label)
be made of something What's your shirt made of?
Traditional Japanese houses were made of wood.
be made out of something What's your shirt made out of?
be made from something Wine is made from grapes.
make something into something The grapes are made into wine.
make something for somebody She made coffee for us all.
make somebody something She made us all coffee.

Vocabulary Building Household jobs: do or make?Household jobs: do or make?

To talk about jobs in the home you can use such phrases as wash the dishes, clean the kitchen floor, set the table, etc. In conversation the verb do is often used instead:
- Let me do the dishes.
- Michael said he would do the kitchen floor.
- It’s your turn to do the table.
Do is often used with nouns ending in -ing:
- to do the shopping/cleaning/ironing/vacuuming.
The verb make is used especially in the phrase make the beds and when you are talking about preparing or cooking food:
- He makes a great lasagne.
- I’ll make breakfast while you’re having a shower.
You can also say get, get ready and, especially in North American English, fix for preparing meals:
- Can you get dinner while I put the kids to bed?
- Sit down—I’ll fix supper for you.

make something to write, create or prepare something

These regulations were made to protect children.
My lawyer has been urging me to make a will.
She has made (= directed or acted in) several movies.
It is possible to make a hypothesis on the basis of this graph.
The Environment Secretary is to make a statement on Tuesday.

cause to appear/happen/become/do

to cause something to appear as a result of breaking, tearing, hitting or removing material

make something + adv./prep. The stone made a dent in the roof of the car.
make something The holes in the cloth were made by moths.

make something to cause something to exist, happen or be done

to make a noise/mess/fuss
She tried to make a good impression on the interviewer.
I keep making the same mistakes.

Synonyms makemake

do
create
develop
produce
generate
form

These words all mean to make something from parts or materials, or to cause something to exist or happen.

make
to create or prepare something by combining materials or putting parts together; to cause something to exist or happen:
- She makes her own clothes.
- She made a good impression on the interviewer.
do
(rather informal) to make or prepare something, especially something artistic or something to eat:
- He did a beautiful drawing of a house.
- Who’s doing the food for the party?
create
to make something exist or happen, especially something new that did not exist before:
- Scientists disagree about how the universe was created.

make or create?Make is a more general word and is more often used for physical things: you would usually make a table/dress/cake but create jobs/wealth. You can use create for something physical in order to emphasize how original or unusual the object is: Try this new dish, created by our head chef.

develop
(used especially in business contexts) to think of and produce a new product:
- to develop new software
produce
to make things to be sold; to create something using skill:
- a factory that produces microchips
generate
to produce or create something, especially power, money or ideas:
- to generate electricity
- Brainstorming is a good way of generating ideas.
form
[often passive] to make something from something else; to make something into something else:
- Rearrange the letters to form a new word.
- The chain is formed from 136 links.

Patterns

to make/create/develop/produce/generate/form something from/out of something
to make/form something into something
to make/produce wine
to create/develop a new product
to create/produce/generate income/profits/wealth
to produce/generate electricity/heat/power

make somebody/something/yourself + adj. to cause somebody/something to feel, show or have a particular quality; to cause somebody/something to be or become something

The news made him very happy.
She made her objections clear.
Technology promises to make our lives easier.
He made it clear that he objected.
The full story was never made public.
Can you make yourself understood in Russian?
She couldn't make herself heard above the noise of the traffic.
The terrorists made it known that tourists would be targeted.
The company may make targets difficult or impossible to achieve.
Technology has made it possible to move many jobs away from high-cost locations.

make somebody/something do something to cause somebody/something to do something

She always makes me laugh.
This dress makes me look fat.
What makes you say that (= why do you think so)?
Nothing will make me change my mind.
We were made to feel extremely welcome.

Extra Examples

This does serve to make you question some fundamentals.
Smokers are often made to feel like social outcasts.
Politeness made her go back to see him.
What made you think he was guilty?
What made you go down to the beach so late last night?
What he said certainly made us all think.

to cause somebody/something to be or become a particular kind of thing or person

make something of somebody/something This isn't very important—I don't want to make an issue of it.
Don't make a habit of it.
You've made a terrible mess of this job.
It's important to try and make something of (= achieve something in) your life.
We'll make a tennis player of you yet.
make something + noun I made painting the house my project for the summer.
She made it her business to find out who was responsible.
These improvements will make the city a better place to live.
She 's made her firm a success.

a bed

make a bed to arrange a bed so that it is neat and ready for use

a decision/guess/comment, etc.

make a decision, guess, comment, etc. to decide, guess, etc. something

Come on! It's time we made a start.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing because of bad weather.

Make can be used in this way with a number of different nouns. These expressions are included at the entry for each noun.

force

to force somebody to do something

make somebody do something They made me repeat the whole story.
be made to do something She must be made to comply with the rules.
make somebody He never cleans his room and his mother never tries to make him.

Extra Examples

His snoring was so bad, she made him sleep on the sofa downstairs.
Mum makes us eat lots of vegetables.
We were made to work very hard.

represent

to represent somebody/something as being or doing something

make somebody/something + adj. You've made my nose too big (= for example in a drawing).
make somebody/something + noun He makes King Lear a truly tragic figure.

appoint

make somebody + noun to elect or choose somebody as something

She made him her assistant.

be suitable

linking verb make somebody/something + noun to become or develop into something; to be suitable for something

She would have made an excellent teacher.
This room would make a nice office.

equal

linking verb + noun to add up to or equal something

5 and 7 make 12.
A hundred cents make one euro.

linking verb + noun to be a total of something

That makes the third time he's failed his driving test!

money

make something to earn or gain money

She makes $100 000 a year.
to make a profit/loss
We need to think of ways to make money.
He made a fortune on the stock market.
He makes a living as a stand-up comic.

Extra Examples

A movie with big name stars in it should make money.
Did they make any money out of their invention?
She sold her foreign investments last month and made $75 000.
The company is making a loss on its children's range.
There's money to be made from tourism.
You won't make much money as a shop assistant.

Topics Moneya2

calculate

[no passive] make something + noun to think or calculate something to be something

What time do you make it?
I make that exactly $50.

reach

[no passive] make something to manage to reach or go to a place or position

Do you think we'll make Dover by 12?
I'm sorry I couldn't make your party last night.
He'll never make (= get a place in) the team.
The story made (= appeared on) the front pages of the national newspapers.
We just managed to make the deadline (= to finish something in time).

Extra Examples

Bob made the airport in less than forty minutes.
The climber was the first woman to make the summit.

something successful

make something to cause something to be a success

Good wine can make a meal.
The news really made my day.

Topics Successc2

More Like This Verbs with two objectsVerbs with two objects

bet
bring
build
buy
cost
get
give
leave
lend
make
offer
owe
pass
pay
play
post
promise
read
refuse
sell
send
show
sing
take
teach
tell
throw
wish
write

Word OriginOld English macian, of West Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘fitting’; related to the verb match.

Idioms Most idioms containing make are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example make merry is at merry.

make as if to do something

to make a movement that makes it seem as if you are just going to do something
- He made as if to speak.

make do (with something)

to manage with something that is not really good enough
- We were in a hurry so we had to make do with a quick snack.

make good

to become rich and successfulTopics Successc2

make something good

to pay for, replace or repair something that has been lost or damaged
- She promised to make good the damage.
to do something that you have promised, threatened, etc. to do synonym fulfil

make it

to be successful in your career
- He never really made it as an actor.
Topics Successc2
to succeed in reaching a place in time, especially when this is difficult
- The flight leaves in twenty minutes—we'll never make it.
to be able to be present at a place
- I'm sorry I won't be able to make it (= for example, to a party) on Saturday.
to survive after a serious illness or accident; to deal successfully with a difficult experience
- The doctors think he's going to make it.
- make it through something I don't know how I made it through the week.
Topics Successc2, Illnessc2

make it with somebody

(North American English, slang) to have sex with somebody

make like…

(North American English, informal) to pretend to be, know or have something in order to impress people
- He makes like he's the greatest actor of all time.

make the most of something/somebody/yourself

to gain as much advantage, pleasure, etc. as you can from somebody/something
- It's my first trip abroad so I'm going to make the most of it.
- She doesn't know how to make the most of herself (= make herself appear in the best possible way).

make much of something/somebody

to treat something/somebody as very important
- He always makes much of his humble origins.

make or break somebody/something

to be the thing that makes somebody/something either a success or a failure
- This movie will make or break him as a director.
- It's make-or-break time for the company.
Topics Successc2, Difficulty and failurec2

make something of yourself

to be successful in your life
- I wanted to study hard and really make something of myself.
Topics Successc2