v. i. 1. To act in a certain manner; to have to do; to manage; to interfere; to be active; -- often in the phrase to meddle or make. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A scurvy, jack-a-nape priest to meddle or make. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To proceed; to tend; to move; to go; as, he made toward home; the tiger made at the sportsmen. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Formerly, authors used to make on, to make forth, to make about; but these phrases are obsolete. We now say, to make at, to make away, to make for, to make off, to make toward, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To tend; to contribute; to have effect; -- with for or against; as, it makes for his advantage. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

Follow after the things which make for peace. Rom. xiv. 19. [ 1913 Webster ]

Considerations infinite
Do make against it. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To increase; to augment; to accrue. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To compose verses; to write poetry; to versify. [ Archaic ] Chaucer. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To solace him some time, as I do when I make. P. Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

To make as if, or
To make as though, to pretend that; to make show that; to make believe (see under Make, v. t.). [ 1913 Webster ] Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled. Josh. viii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ] My lord of London maketh as though he were greatly displeased with me. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ] --
To make at, to go toward hastily, or in a hostile manner; to attack. --
To make away with. (a) To carry off. (b) To transfer or alienate; hence, to spend; to dissipate. (c) To kill; to destroy. --
To make off, to go away suddenly. --
To make out, to succeed; to manage oneself; to be able at last; to make shift; as, he made out to reconcile the contending parties; after the earthquake they made out all right. (b) to engage in fond caresses; to hug and kiss; to neck; -- of courting couples or individuals (for individuals, used with with); as, they made out on a bench in the park; he was making out with the waitress in the kitchen [ informal ] --
To make up, to become reconciled or friendly. --
To make up for, to compensate for; to supply an equivalent for. --
To make up to. (a) To approach; as, a suspicious boat made up to us. (b) To pay addresses to; to make love to. --
To make up with, to become reconciled to. [ Colloq. ] --
To make with, to concur or agree with. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Structure, texture, constitution of parts; construction; shape; form. [ 1913 Webster ]

It our perfection of so frail a make
As every plot can undermine and shake? Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

On the make, (a) bent upon making great profits; greedy of gain. [ Low, U. S. ] (b) seeking higher social status or a higher employment position. (c) seeking a sexual partner; looking for sexual adventure. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ AS. maca, gemaca. See Match. ] A companion; a mate; often, a husband or a wife. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

For in this world no woman is
Worthy to be my make. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. made p. pr. & vb. n. making. ] [ OE. maken, makien, AS. macian; akin to OS. mak&unr_;n, OFries. makia, D. maken, G. machen, OHG. mahh&unr_;n to join, fit, prepare, make, Dan. mage. Cf. Match an equal. ] 1. To cause to exist; to bring into being; to form; to produce; to frame; to fashion; to create. Hence, in various specific uses or applications: (a) To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain form; to construct; to fabricate. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf. Ex. xxxii. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To produce, as something artificial, unnatural, or false; -- often with up; as, to make up a story. [ 1913 Webster ]

And Art, with her contending, doth aspire
To excel the natural with made delights. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; -- often used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to record; to make abode, for to abide, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. Judg. xvi. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wealth maketh many friends. Prov. xix. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will neither plead my age nor sickness in excuse of the faults which I have made. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) To execute with the requisite formalities; as, to make a bill, note, will, deed, etc. (e) To gain, as the result of one's efforts; to get, as profit; to make acquisition of; to have accrue or happen to one; as, to make a large profit; to make an error; to make a loss; to make money. [ 1913 Webster ]

He accuseth Neptune unjustly who makes shipwreck a second time. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) To find, as the result of calculation or computation; to ascertain by enumeration; to find the number or amount of, by reckoning, weighing, measurement, and the like; as, he made the distance of; to travel over; as, the ship makes ten knots an hour; he made the distance in one day. (h) To put in a desired or desirable condition; to cause to thrive. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who makes or ruins with a smile or frown. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to be or become; to put into a given state verb, or adjective; to constitute; as, to make known; to make public; to make fast. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Ex. ii. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh. Ex. vii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When used reflexively with an adjective, the reflexive pronoun is often omitted; as, to make merry; to make bold; to make free, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to appear to be; to constitute subjectively; to esteem, suppose, or represent. [ 1913 Webster ]

He is not that goose and ass that Valla would make him. Baker. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To require; to constrain; to compel; to force; to cause; to occasion; -- followed by a noun or pronoun and infinitive. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the active voice the to of the infinitive is usually omitted. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will make them hear my words. Deut. iv. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

They should be made to rise at their early hour. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To become; to be, or to be capable of being, changed or fashioned into; to do the part or office of; to furnish the material for; as, he will make a good musician; sweet cider makes sour vinegar; wool makes warm clothing. [ 1913 Webster ]

And old cloak makes a new jerkin. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To compose, as parts, ingredients, or materials; to constitute; to form; to amount to; as, a pound of ham makes a hearty meal. [ 1913 Webster ]

The heaven, the air, the earth, and boundless sea,
Make but one temple for the Deity. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To be engaged or concerned in. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Gomez, what makest thou here, with a whole brotherhood of city bailiffs? Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To reach; to attain; to arrive at or in sight of. “And make the Libyan shores.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

They that sail in the middle can make no land of either side. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

To make a bed, to prepare a bed for being slept on, or to put it in order. --
To make a card (Card Playing), to take a trick with it. --
To make account. See under Account, n. --
To make account of, to esteem; to regard. --
To make away. (a) To put out of the way; to kill; to destroy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] If a child were crooked or deformed in body or mind, they made him away. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ] (b) To alienate; to transfer; to make over. [ Obs. ] Waller. --
To make believe, to pretend; to feign; to simulate. --
To make bold, to take the liberty; to venture. --
To make the cards (Card Playing), to shuffle the pack. --
To make choice of, to take by way of preference; to choose. --
To make danger, to make experiment. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. --
To make default (Law), to fail to appear or answer. --
To make the doors, to shut the door. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] Make the doors upon a woman's wit, and it will out at the casement. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] -
To make free with. See under Free, a. --
To make good. See under Good. --
To make head, to make headway. --
To make light of. See under Light, a. --
To make little of. (a) To belittle. (b) To accomplish easily. --
To make love to. See under Love, n. --
To make meat, to cure meat in the open air. [ Colloq. Western U. S. ] --
To make merry, to feast; to be joyful or jovial. --
To make much of, to treat with much consideration, attention, or fondness; to value highly. --
To make no bones. See under Bone, n. --
To make no difference, to have no weight or influence; to be a matter of indifference. --
To make no doubt, to have no doubt. --
To make no matter, to have no weight or importance; to make no difference. --
To make oath (Law), to swear, as to the truth of something, in a prescribed form of law. --
To make of. (a) To understand or think concerning; as, not to know what to make of the news. (b) To pay attention to; to cherish; to esteem; to account. “Makes she no more of me than of a slave.” Dryden. --
To make one's law (Old Law), to adduce proof to clear one's self of a charge. --
To make out. (a) To find out; to discover; to decipher; as, to make out the meaning of a letter. (b) to gain sight of; to recognize; to discern; to descry; as, as they approached the city, he could make out the tower of the Chrysler Building. (c) To prove; to establish; as, the plaintiff was unable to make out his case. (d) To make complete or exact; as, he was not able to make out the money. (d) to write out; to write down; -- used especially of a bank check or bill; as, he made out a check for the cost of the dinner; the workman made out a bill and handed it to him. --
To make over, to transfer the title of; to convey; to alienate; as, he made over his estate in trust or in fee. --
To make sail. (Naut.) (a) To increase the quantity of sail already extended. (b) To set sail. --
To make shift, to manage by expedients; as, they made shift to do without it. [ Colloq. ]. --
To make sternway, to move with the stern foremost; to go or drift backward. --
To make strange, to act in an unfriendly manner or as if surprised; to treat as strange; as, to make strange of a request or suggestion. --
To make suit to, to endeavor to gain the favor of; to court. --
To make sure. See under Sure. --
To make up. (a) To collect into a sum or mass; as, to make up the amount of rent; to make up a bundle or package. (b) To reconcile; to compose; as, to make up a difference or quarrel. (c) To supply what is wanting in; to complete; as, a dollar is wanted to make up the stipulated sum. (d) To compose, as from ingredients or parts; to shape, prepare, or fabricate; as, to make up a mass into pills; to make up a story. [ 1913 Webster ] He was all made up of love and charms! Addison. [ 1913 Webster ] (e) To compensate; to make good; as, to make up a loss. (f) To adjust, or to arrange for settlement; as, to make up accounts. (g) To dress and paint for a part, as an actor; as, he was well made up. --
To make up a face, to distort the face as an expression of pain or derision. --
To make up one's mind, to reach a mental determination; to resolve. --
To make way, or
To make one's way. (a) To make progress; to advance. (b) To open a passage; to clear the way. --
To make words, to multiply words. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) Any apparatus for making and breaking an electric circuit; a circuit breaker. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Make, v. + bate a quarrel. ] One who excites contentions and quarrels. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A feigning to believe; make believe. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To pretend; -- often used with that, but often having the that omitted; as, he made believe he didn't hear her; or he made believe that he didn't hear her. [ PJC ]

a. 1. Feigned; insincere. “Make-believe reverence.” G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Imaginary; as, the child had a make-believe friend to whom he often talked. [ PJC ]

n. A feigning to believe, as in the play of children; a mere pretense; a fiction; an invention. “Childlike make-believe.” Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

To forswear self-delusion and make-believe. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. p. p. of Make. Made. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An object of ridicule; a butt. Godwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To reveal; to disclose; as, the congressman made known his interest in the company only after he voted on the bill. [ PJC ]

a. [ See 1st Make, and cf. Matchless, Mateless. ] 1. Matchless. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Without a mate. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A peacemaker. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who makes, forms, or molds; a manufacturer; specifically, the Creator. [ 1913 Webster ]

The universal Maker we may praise. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The person who makes a promissory note. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who writes verses; a poet. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ “The Greeks named the poet poihth`s, which name, as the most excellent, hath gone through other languages. It cometh of this word poiei^n, make; wherein, I know not whether by luck or wisdom, we Englishmen have met well the Greeks in calling him a maker.” Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

To meet one's maker, to die. [ PJC ]

n. The final preparation and adjustments. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. That with which one makes shift; a temporary expedient, with implication of inferiority to the more usual object or means. James Mill. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

I am not a model clergyman, only a decent makeshift. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1. The way in which the parts of anything are put together. [ 1913 Webster ]

The unthinking masses are necessarily teleological in their mental make-up. L. F. Ward. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The constituent parts of anything; as, the makeup of the new congress was predominantly conservative. [ PJC ]

3. Cosmetics applied to the face, such as lipstick, facial power, or eye shadow. [ PJC ]

4. The aggregate of cosmetics and costume worn by an actor. [ PJC ]

5. The effect or appearance of the wearing of makeup (in senses 3 or 4); often, the way in which an actor is dressed, painted, etc., in personating a character; as, her makeup was very realistic. [ PJC ]

6. An action that is taken to fulfill a requirement not accomplished at the expected time, such as a make-up examination; as, the student took his make-up on Saturday. [ PJC ]

7. (Printing) The appearance of a page of a publication, specifically the type style of the text and the spatial arrangement of the text, illustrations, advertising material etc., on the page. [ PJC ]

8. (Printing) The art or process of arranging the portions of a printed publication on the pages for esthetic reasons or for optimal effect on the reader. [ PJC ]

v. i. 1. (Naut.) To leak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To urinate; -- a euphemism. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which is thrown into a scale to make weight; something of little account added to supply a deficiency or fill a gap. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Active work of litle value, such as assignments given by teachers to students to keep them busy while the teacher performs other tasks, or chores performed to while away time; also called busywork.
Syn. -- busywork. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]