What does “make” mean?
- 1
verbto create or produce something
I made a cake for her birthday.
- 2
verbto cause someone to do something or feel a certain way
That movie made me cry.
- 3
verbto earn money
He makes about $50,000 a year.
Make at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /meɪk/ · MAYK
- Forms
- made, making
How to use “make” correctly
Use “make” for creating and “do” for tasks: “make a mistake”, “make dinner”, but “do homework”, “do the dishes”.
Common phrases with “make”
- make a decision
- make a mistake
- make money
- make sure
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- maker
- making
Idioms with “make”
- Make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for the things you need.
- Make up for lost time: To do something a lot or quickly because you could not do it earlier.
- To make matters worse: Used to introduce something that makes an already bad situation worse.
- Make a mountain out of a molehill: Treat a small problem as if it were a very serious one.
“make” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- begin verbA1to start doing something or to start happening
- break verbA1to make something separate into pieces or stop working
- bring verbA1to take someone or something with you to a place
- build verbA1to make a building or other structure by putting parts together
- change verbA1to become different, or make someone or something different
- check verbA1to look at something to see if it is correct, safe or as it should be
- close verbA1to shut something, or to stop being open
- come verbA1to move toward the speaker or the place being talked about