make / māk/ • v. (past made / mād/ ) [tr.] 1. form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; construct; create: my grandmother made a dress for me the body is made from four pieces of maple baseball bats are made of ash. ∎  (make something into) alter something so that it forms or constitutes (something else): buffalo's milk can be made into cheese. ∎  compose, prepare, or draw up (something written or abstract): she made her will. ∎  prepare (a dish, drink, or meal) for consumption: she was making lunch for Lucy and Francis | I'll make us both a cup of tea. ∎  arrange bedclothes tidily on (a bed) ready for use. ∎  arrange and light materials for (a fire). ∎ Electr. complete or close (a circuit).2. cause (something) to exist or come about; bring about: the drips had made a pool on the floor. ∎  [tr.] cause to become or seem: decorative features make brickwork more interesting the best way to disarm your critics is to make them laugh. ∎  carry out, perform, or produce (a specified action, movement, or sound): Unger made a speech of forty minutes anyone can make a mistake. ∎  communicate or express (an idea, request, or requirement): I tend to make heavy demands on people | make him an offer he can't refuse. ∎  undertake or agree to (an aim or purpose): we made a deal. ∎ chiefly archaic enter into a contract of (marriage): a marriage made in heaven. ∎  [tr.] appoint or designate (someone) to a position: he was made a colonel in the Mexican army. ∎  [tr.] represent or cause to appear in a specified way: the sale price and extended warranty make it an excellent value. ∎  cause or ensure the success or advancement of: the work which really made Wordsworth's reputation.3. [tr.] compel (someone) to do something: she bought me a brandy and made me drink it.4. constitute; amount to: they made an unusual duo. ∎  serve as or become through development or adaptation: this fern makes a good houseplant. ∎  consider to be; estimate as: How many are there? I make it sixteen. ∎  agree or decide on (a specified arrangement), typically one concerning a time or place: let's make it 7:30.5. gain or earn (money or profit): he'd made a lot of money out of hardware.6. arrive at (a place) within a specified time or in time for (a train or other transport): we've got a lot to do if you're going to make the shuttle they didn't always make it on time. ∎  (make it) succeed in something; become successful: he waited confidently for his band to make it. ∎  achieve a place in: these dogs seldom make the news they made it to the semifinals. ∎  achieve the rank of: he wasn't going to make captain.7. [intr.] go or prepare to go in a particular direction: he struggled to his feet and made toward the car. ∎  act as if one is about to perform an action: she made as if to leave the room.8. inf. induce (someone) to have sexual intercourse with one: he had been trying to make Cynthia for two years now his alleged quest to make it with the world's most attractive women.9. (in bridge, whist, and similar games) win (a trick). ∎  win a trick with (a card). ∎  win the number of tricks that fulfills (a contract). ∎  shuffle (a pack of cards) for dealing.10. [intr.] (of the tide) begin to flow or ebb.• n. 1. the manufacturer or trade name of a particular product: the make, model, and year of his car. ∎  the structure or composition of something.2. the making of electrical contact. ∎  the position in which this is made.PHRASES: be made of money inf. be very rich.have (got) it made inf. be in a position where success is certain: because your dad's a manager, he's got it made.make a day (or night) of it devote a whole day (or night) to an activity, esp. an enjoyable one.make someone's day make an otherwise ordinary or dull day pleasingly memorable for someone.make do manage with the limited or inadequate means available: Dad would have to make do with an old car.make like inf. pretend to be; imitate: tell the whole group to make like a bird by putting their arms out.make or break be the factor that decides whether (something) will succeed or fail.make sail Sailing spread a sail or sails. ∎  start a voyage.make time1. find an occasion when time is available to do something: the nurse should make time to talk to the patient.2. inf. make sexual advances to someone: I couldn't make time with Marilyn because she was already a senior.make up one's mind make a decision; decide: he made up his mind to attend the meeting.make way1. allow room for someone or something else: the land is due to be bulldozed to make way for a parking garage.2. chiefly Naut. make progress; travel.on the make inf. intent on gain, typically in an unscrupulous way. ∎  looking for a sexual partner.put the make on inf. make sexual advances to (someone).PHRASAL VERBS: make after archaic pursue (someone).make awayanother way of saying make off.make away withanother way of saying make off with. ∎  kill (someone) furtively and illicitly: for all we know she could have been made away with.make for1. move or head toward (a place): I made for the life raft and hung on for dear life. ∎  approach (someone) to attack them.2. tend to result in or be received as (a particular thing): job descriptions never make for exciting reading.3. (be made for) be eminently suited for (a particular function): a man made for action. ∎  form an ideal partnership; be ideally suited: you two were just made for each other.make something of give or ascribe a specified amount of attention or importance to: oddly, he makes little of America's low investment rates. ∎  understand or derive advantage from: they stared at the stone but could make nothing of it. ∎  conclude to be the meaning or character of: he wasn't sure what to make of Russell.make off leave hurriedly, esp. in order to avoid duty or punishment: they made off without paying.make off with carry (something) away illicitly: burglars made off with all their wedding presents.make out inf. 1. make progress; fare: how are you making out, now that the summer's over?2. inf. engage in sexual activity: Ernie was making out with Bernice.make someone/something out1. manage with some difficulty to see or hear something: in the dim light it was difficult to make out the illustration. ∎  understand the character or motivation of someone: I can't make her out—she's so inconsistent.2. assert; represent: I'm not as bad as I'm made out to be. ∎  try to give a specified impression; pretend: he made out he was leaving.3. draw up or write out a list or document, esp. an official one: advice about making out a will send a check made out to Trinity College.make something over1. transfer the possession of something to someone: if he dies childless he is to make over his share of the estate to his brother.2. completely transform or remodel something, esp. a person's hairstyle, makeup, or clothes.make up be reconciled after a quarrel: let's kiss and make up.make someone up apply cosmetics to oneself or another.make something up1. (also make up for) serve or act to compensate for something lost, missed, or deficient: I'll make up the time tomorrow. ∎  (make it up to) compensate someone for negligent or unfair treatment: I'll try to make it up to you in the future.2. (make up) (of parts) compose or constitute (a whole): women make up 56 percent of the student body the team is made up of three women and two men. ∎  complete an amount or group: he brought along a girl to make up a foursome.3. put together or prepare something from parts or ingredients: make up the mortar to a consistency that can be molded in the hands | ∎  get an amount or group together: he was trying to make up a party to go dancing. ∎  prepare a bed for use with fresh bedclothes. ∎  Printing arrange type and illustrations into pages or arrange the type and illustrations on a page.4. concoct or invent a story, lie, or plan: she enjoyed making up tall tales.make up to inf. attempt to win the favor of (someone) by being pleasant: you can't go on about morals when you're making up to Adam like that.make with inf. proceed to use or supply: make with the feet, honey—we're late.DERIVATIVES: mak·a·ble / -əbəl/ (also make·a·ble) adj.

make A utility program – developed initially to run under UNIX – that can interpret a build script (provided as an input file) containing instructions defining how, for example, to build a program from a set of source text files. The instructions can indicate the tools (such as language compilers, link editors, etc.) to be used to transform the text to intermediate forms, and then to convert these intermediate forms into an executable binary. An important feature of make is its ability to rebuild a program after some of its components have been changed. When operating in this mode, make will interpret the interdependency information inherent in the build script and use this to carry out the minimum set of operations. Thus, for example, if a source language module (or any of the definition files upon which it depends) has not been changed, then it will not recompile the module. Make was designed to work closely with sccs.

make pt., pp. made bring into existence, subject to an operation, cause to be, cause (something to happen). OE. macian (not freq.) = OS. makon (Du. maken), OHG. mahhōn (G. machen):- WGmc. *makōjan, f. *mak- MATCH1; plausibly referred to IE. *maĝ- repr. by Gr. mássein knead, OSl. mazati anoint, grease. The sense-history is uncert.
Hence sb. manner, style, form. XIV. maker manufacturer, creator XIII; (arch.) poet (ult. tr. Gr. poētḗs) XIV.

make as you make your bed, so you must lie on it you must put up with a situation for which you are responsible. The saying is recorded in English from the late 16th century; a similar saying in late 15th-century French is, ‘as one makes one's bed, so one finds it.’
make hay while the sun shines one should take advantage of favourable circumstances which may not last; proverbial saying, mid 16th century.
make someone's day often used ironically as a warning that an action will give pleasure to someone hostile, as in ‘Go ahead, make my day’, spoken in Sudden Impact (1983 film) by Clint Eastwood.