To make means to create or produce something, or to cause something to happen. It is an irregular verb (past tense: made) and one of the most frequently used words in English.
What Does Make Mean?
Make comes from Old English macian, meaning to form or create, related to Old High German mahhon and Dutch maken. It has been a core English verb for over a thousand years and has accumulated an enormous range of meanings, fixed expressions, and phrasal verbs.
At its simplest, make describes the act of producing or constructing something: make a cup of tea, make a chair. It also expresses causation — bringing about a state or reaction in someone or something: The joke made everyone laugh. Beyond these two central meanings, make forms the backbone of hundreds of collocations: make a decision, make progress, make a difference.
One of the most common errors for learners is confusing make with do. As a general guide, use make when something is created or produced as a result, and do for tasks, duties, and general activities. However, many collocations must simply be learnt as fixed combinations.
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level & usage note |
|---|---|
| I make my bed every morning before school. | A2 — everyday routine; make + noun object |
| She made a very good impression at the interview. | B1 — fixed collocation; make + abstract noun |
| The heavy rain made it impossible to see the road. | B1 — causative; make + object + adjective |
| The government needs to make a decision on energy policy before the winter. | B2 — formal register; make + a decision |
| Prolonged exposure to stress can make even the most resilient individuals vulnerable to illness. | C1 — academic register; make + object + adjective complement |
Common Collocations
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| make a decision | We need to make a decision by Friday. |
| make a mistake | Everyone makes mistakes when learning a language. |
| make progress | The students have made excellent progress this term. |
| make an effort | You should make more of an effort to arrive on time. |
| make an appointment | Could you make an appointment with the doctor for me? |
| make a suggestion | May I make a suggestion about the layout? |
| make friends | It can be hard to make friends in a new city. |
| make money | He left his job to make money from his art. |
| make a difference | Even small actions can make a real difference. |
| make a phone call | I need to make a quick phone call before we leave. |
Etymology Note
The Old English root macian belongs to the West Germanic family and is related to the Proto-Germanic *makōną. Cognates survive in modern German (machen), Dutch (maken), and several Scandinavian languages. By the Middle English period the verb had already developed its broad causative sense, making it one of the most semantically expansive words in the language. The noun use — referring to a brand or manufacturer (What make is your car?) — emerged in the 19th century.
Usage Notes
Make vs Do: The make/do distinction is one of the most studied problem areas in English for learners. Use make with: food and drink (make tea, make a meal), creative output (make a film, make a noise), decisions and plans (make a plan, make a choice), and money/progress (make a profit, make headway). Use do with: housework (do the hoovering, do the washing-up), duties (do your homework, do your job), and activities in general (do sport, do a course).
Make as causative: When make means "cause someone to do something", it is followed by an object and a bare infinitive (without to): The film made me cry (not made me to cry). In the passive, however, the to is required: I was made to wait for an hour.
Make + adjective: Make can link a subject to an adjective through an object: The cold weather made her miserable. This pattern is very common in both spoken and written English at B1 level and above.
Related Words
Synonyms
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For These Errors
She made me to wait outside in the rain.
She made me wait outside in the rain. (bare infinitive after causative make)
I need to do a decision about my career.
I need to make a decision about my career. (make, not do, with decision)
He maked a lot of progress last year.
He made a lot of progress last year. (irregular past tense: made)