make
make [make makes made making] verb, noun [meɪk] [meɪk]
see also made
verb (made, made [meɪd] ; [meɪd] )
CREATE
1. to create or prepare sth by combining materials or putting parts together
• ~ sth to make a table/dress/cake
• to make bread/cement/paper
• She makes her own clothes.
• made in France (= on a label)
• ~ sth (out) of sth What's your shirt made of?
• ~ sth from sth Wine is made from grapes.
• ~ sth into sth The grapes are made into wine.
• ~ sth for sb She made coffee for us all.
• ~ sb sth She made us all coffee.
2. ~ sth to write, create or prepare sth
• 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.
A BED
3. ~ a bed to arrange a bed so that it is neat and ready for use
CAUSE TO APPEAR/HAPPEN/BECOME/DO
4. ~ sth (+ adv./prep.) to cause sth to appear as a result of breaking, tearing, hitting or removing material
• The stone made a dent in the roof of the car.
• The holes in the cloth were made by moths.
5. ~ sth to cause sth 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.
6. ~ sb/sth/yourself + adj. to cause sb/sth to be or become sth
• The news made him very happy.
• She made her objections clear.
• 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.
7. ~ sb/sth do sth to cause sb/sth to do sth
• 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.
8. to cause sb/sth to be or become sth
• ~ sth of sb/sth 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 sth in) your life.
• We'll make a tennis player of you yet.
• ~ sth + noun I made painting the house my project for the summer.
• She made it her business to find out who was responsible.
A DECISION/GUESS/COMMENT, ETC.
9. ~ a decision, guess, comment, etc. to decide, guess, etc. sth
• Come on! It's time we made a start. Make can be used in this way with a number of different nouns. These expressions are included at the entry for each noun.
FORCE
10. to force sb to do sth
• ~ sb do sth They made me repeat the whole story.
• be made to do sth She must be made to comply with the rules.
• ~ sb He never cleans his room and his mother never tries to make him.
REPRESENT
11. to represent sb/sth as being or doing sth
• ~ sb/sth + adj. You've made my nose too big (= for example in a drawing).
• ~ sb/sth + noun He makes King Lear a truly tragic figure.
APPOINT
12. ~ sb + noun to elect or choose sb as sth
• She made him her assistant.
BE SUITABLE
13. linking verb ~ sb/sth + noun to become or develop into sth; to be suitable for sth
• She would have made an excellent teacher.
• This room would make a nice office.
EQUAL
14. linking verb + noun to add up to or equal sth
• 5 and 7 make 12.
• A hundred cents make one euro.
15. linking verb + noun to be a total of sth
• That makes the third time he's failed his driving test!
MONEY
16. ~ sth 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.
CALCULATE
17. no passive ~ sth + noun to think or calculate sth to be sth
• What time do you make it?
• I make that exactly $50.
REACH
18. no passive ~ sth 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 sth in time).
STH SUCCESSFUL
19. ~ sth to cause sth to be a success
• Good wine can make a meal.
• The news really made my day.
Rem: Most idioms containing make are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example make merry is at merry.
Verb forms:
Word Origin:
Old English macian, of West Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘fitting’; related to the verb match.
Thesaurus:
make verb
1. T
• Wine is made from grapes.
create • • produce • • manufacture • • build • • develop • • generate • • form • |especially spoken do •
Opp: destroy
make/create/produce/manufacture/build/develop/generate/form sth from/out of sth
make/develop/form sth into sth
make/create/produce/do a drawing/painting
Make or create? Make is a more general word and is used especially about physical things: you would usually make a table/dress/cake but create jobs/wealth. You can use create about sth physical to emphasize how original it is
• Try this new dish, created by our head chef.
2. T
• This cake is very easy to make.
cook • • bake • • brew • |especially written prepare • |especially spoken get • |especially AmE fix •
to make/cook/bake/prepare/get/fix sth for sb
to make/cook/bake/prepare/get/fix sb/yourself sth
to make/cook/prepare/get/fix breakfast/lunch/dinner
3. T
• Who made these unjust laws?
plan • • design • • formulate •
make/plan/design/formulate sth to do sth
make/formulate a plan/hypothesis
4. T
• The rock made a dent in the roof of the car.
cause • • create • • produce •
make/cause/create/produce a hole
5. T
• Nothing will make me change my mind.
lead • • prompt • • motivate • • provoke • • persuade • |formal induce • • predispose •
make sb do sth
lead/prompt/motivate/provoke/persuade/induce/predispose sb to do sth
6. T
• They made us work very hard.
force • • drive • |formal oblige • • compel • • impel •
be made/force sb/drive sb/be obliged/compel sb/impel sb to do sth
Make or force? Make is slightly more informal. It is usually a person who makes sb else do sth
• Mum made me eat all my cabbage.
Force often suggests threats, or a situation where there is no choice about what to do
• The hijackers forced the passengers to lie on the ground.
• The plane was forced to make an emergency landing.
7. T
• 50 and 450 make 500.
be • • equal • • add up to sth • • amount to sth • • number • • run to sth • |especially business total •
make/be/equal/add up to/amount to/number/run to/total 50/2 million/$250/75%, etc.
make/be/add up to/amount to/number/run to/total nearly/almost/about/approximately/over/more than sth
8. T
• She sold her foreign investments and made $75 000.
raise • • fetch • • bring (sb) in sth • |especially spoken get • |formal realize •
Opp: lose
make/raise/bring in money
make/raise/fetch/bring in/get/realize $199/£300 000
make/realize £1 000/$50 000 on a deal
Make, bring in sth or get? You can make money, a particular amount of money, or a profit or loss. You can bring in money or a particular amount of money. You can only get a particular amount of money:
• The garage sale made/brought in a lot more than we expected.
¤ The garage sale got a lot more than we expected.:
• The company is making a loss.
¤ The company is getting/bringing in a loss.
9. T
• She made a fortune on the stock market.
earn • • bring (sb) in sth • • net • • gross • |informal pull sth in • |formal profit • |sometimes disapproving pocket • |informal, sometimes disapproving rake sth in •
Opp: lose
make/earn/bring in/net/gross/pull in/pocket/rake in $100 000 a year
make/earn money/a living/a fortune
Make or earn? Earn emphasizes the work you have to do to get money. If the money comes as interest or profit, and the subject is a person, use make; if the subject is a business, use either word:
• The business made/earned the family £3 million last year.
¤ She earned a fortune on the stock market.
Language Bank:
proportion
Describing fractions and proportions
▪ According to this pie chart, a third of ▪ students' leisure time is spent watching TV.
One in five ▪ hours is/are spent socializing.
▪ Socializing accounts for ▪ / makes up ▪ / comprises ▪ about 20% of leisure time.
▪ Students spend twice as much ▪ time playing computer games as doing sport.
Three times as many ▪ hours are spent playing computer games as reading.
▪ The figure for playing computer games is three times higher than ▪ the figure for reading.
The largest proportion of ▪ time is spent playing computer games.
note at half
Synonyms at consist
Language Banks at expect, fall, illustrate, increase
Synonyms:
consist of sb/sth
comprise • make up sth • constitute • be composed of sb/sth
These words all mean to be formed from the things or people mentioned, or to be the parts that form sth.
consist of sb/sth • to be formed from the things, people or activities mentioned: ▪ Their diet consists largely of vegetables.
comprise • (rather formal) to be formed from the things or people mentioned: ▪ The collection comprises 327 paintings.
Comprise can also be used to refer to the parts or members of sth: ▪ Older people comprise a large proportion of those living in poverty. However, this is less frequent.
make up sth • (rather informal) to be the parts or people that form sth: ▪ Women make up 56% of the student numbers.
constitute • to be the parts or people that form sth: ▪ People under the age of 40 constitute the majority of the labour force.
be composed of sb/sth • (rather formal) to be formed from the things or people mentioned: ▪ Around 15% of our diet is composed of protein.
which word?
Consist of sb/sth is the most general of these words and the only one that can be used for activities with the -ing form of a verb: ▪ My work at that time just consisted of typing letters. The other main difference is between those verbs that take the whole as the subject and the parts as the object: ▪ The group consists of/comprises/is made up of/is composed of ten people. and those that take the parts as the subject and the whole as the object: ▪ Ten people make up/constitute/comprise the group. It is not correct to use ‘comprises of’ or ‘is composed by/from’.
Synonyms:
identify
know • recognize • name • make sb/sth out
These words all mean to be able to see or hear sb/sth and especially to be able to say who or what they are.
identify • to be able to say who or what sb/sth is: ▪ She was able to identify her attacker.
know • to be able to say who or what sth is when you see or hear it because you have seen or heard it before Know is used especially to talk about sounds that seem familiar and when sb recognizes the quality or opportunity that sb/sth represents: ▪ I couldn't see who was speaking, but I knew the voice. ◊ ▪ She knows a bargain when she sees one.
recognize • to know who sb is or what sth is when you see or hear them/it, because you have seen or heard them/it before: ▪ I recognized him as soon as he came in the room.
name • to say the name of sb/sth in order to show that you know who/what they are: ▪ The victim has not yet been named.
make sb/sth out • to manage to see or hear sb/sth that is not very clear: ▪ I could just make out a figure in the darkness.
to identify/know/recognize sb/sth by sth
to identify/recognize/name sb/sth as sb/sth
to identify/know/recognize/make out who/what/how…
to easily/barely/just identify/recognize/make out sb/sth
Synonyms:
make
do • create • develop • produce • generate • form
These words all mean to make sth from parts or materials, or to cause sth to exist or happen.
make • to create or prepare sth by combining materials or putting parts together; to cause sth to exist or happen: ▪ She makes her own clothes. ◊ ▪ She ▪ made a good impression ▪ on the interviewer.
do • (rather informal) to make or prepare sth, especially sth artistic or sth to eat: ▪ He did a beautiful drawing of a house. ◊ ▪ Who's doing the food for the party?
create • to make sth exist or happen, especially sth 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 sth 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 sth using skill: ▪ a factory that produces microchips
generate • to produce or create sth, especially power, money or ideas: ▪ to generate electricity ◊ ▪ Brainstorming is a good way of generating ideas.
form • [often passive] to make sth from sth else; to make sth into sth else: ▪ Rearrange the letters to form a new word. ◊ ▪ The chain is formed from 136 links.
to make/create/develop/produce/generate/form sth from/out of sth
to make/form sth into sth
to make/produce wine
to create/develop a new product
to create/produce/generate income/profits/wealth
to produce/generate electricity/heat/power
Vocabulary Building:
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 -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 NAmE, fix for preparing meals: ▪ Can you get dinner while I put the kids to bed? ◊ ▪ Sit down — I’ll fix supper for you.
Example Bank:
• A movie with big name stars in it should make money.
• Bob made the airport in less than forty minutes.
• Did they make any money out of their invention?
• He has made several movies.
• He makes the most delicious cakes.
• He'll never make the team.
• His snoring was so bad, she made him sleep on the sofa downstairs.
• How do you make that dish with the peppers and olives in it?
• I'm sorry I didn't make the party last night.
• It is possible to make a hypothesis on the basis of this graph.
• Mum makes us eat lots of vegetables.
• Politeness made her go back to see him.
• She made a fortune on the stock market.
• She sold her foreign investments last month and made $75 000.
• Smokers are often made to feel like social outcasts.
• The climber was the first woman to make the summit.
• The company is making a loss on its children's range.
• The plane was forced to make an emergency landing because of bad weather.
• The rock made a dent in the roof of the car.
• The story made the front pages of the national newspapers.
• There's money to be made from tourism.
• This does serve to make you question some fundamentals.
• We need to think of new ways to make money from our existing products.
• We were made to work very hard.
• What he said certainly made us all think.
• What made you go down to the beach so late last night?
• What made you think he was guilty?
• What makes you say that?
• What's your shirt made of?
• You won't make much money as a shop assistant.
• to be forced/made to do sth
Idioms: make as if to do something ▪ make do ▪ make good ▪ make it ▪ make it with somebody ▪ make like … ▪ make much of somebody ▪ make or break somebody ▪ make something good ▪ make something of yourself ▪ make the most of somebody ▪ on the make
Derived: make for something ▪ make off ▪ make off with something ▪ make out ▪ make somebody into somebody ▪ make somebody out ▪ make something of somebody ▪ make something out ▪ make something over ▪ make something up ▪ make towards something ▪ make up ▪ make up for something ▪ make up to somebody ▪ make yourself up
