All English idioms and phrases - page 117

Meanings of Make-a-name-for-oneself:

idiom

To become famous or respected by a lot of people

Usage examples:

He's made a name for himself as a talented journalist.

Meanings of Make-a-pig:

idiom

To eat too much

Usage examples:

They made complete pigs of themselves at the dinner.

Meanings of Make-a-play-for:

idiom

To try to get something, or start a relationship with someone, sometimes by using a plan

Usage examples:

I wouldn't have made a play for him if i'd known he was married.

Meanings of Make-a-point-of:

idiom

To always do something or take particular care to do it

Usage examples:

She makes a point of calling her grandmother every week.

Meanings of Make-a-run-for-it:

idiom

To suddenly start running in order to escape from somewhere

Usage examples:

One of the prisoners tried to make a run for it.

Meanings of Make-allowances-for:

idiom

To accept that a particular fact will change a situation

Usage examples:

We try to make allowances for our students’ different backgrounds.

phrase

To make allowances for someone is to think about their characteristics and not judge them too severely

Usage examples:

You should make allowances for him - he's been quite ill recently., "this is a poor piece of work."…

Meanings of Make-allowances-for-it:

idiom

To accept that a particular fact will change a situation

Usage examples:

We try to make allowances for our students’ different backgrounds.

Meanings of Make-an:

collocation

To say or do something that shows a complete change of opinion or behaviour

Usage examples:

After resisting the change, the firm made an about-face and embraced the new technology., instead, …

Meanings of Make-an-appearance:

idiom

To go to an event, but only for a short time because you do not really want to be there

Usage examples:

I felt like i had to put in an appearance at the staff party, but i only stayed for an hour.

Meanings of Make-an-impression:

idiom

To cause someone to notice and admire you

Usage examples:

He made quite an impression on the girls at the tennis club.

Meanings of Make-an-impression-on:

idiom

To cause someone to notice and admire you

Usage examples:

He made quite an impression on the girls at the tennis club.

Meanings of Make-an-issue-of:

phrase

To make something seem more important than it should be, or to argue about it

Usage examples:

Of course i'll help you - there's no need to make an issue of it., it's upsetting when people make …

Meanings of Make-any-difference:

idiom

To not change a situation in any way

Usage examples:

You can ask him again if you want, but it won't make any difference - he'll still say no., it makes…

Meanings of Make-as-if:

idiom

Begin or appear to begin an action

Meanings of Make-believe:

idiom

Represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like

Meanings of Make-both-ends-meet:

idiom

To have enough money to buy what you need to live

Usage examples:

It’s not easy to make ends meet with a big family, but somehow we manage.

Meanings of Make-capital-out-of:

idiom

To use a situation to get an advantage for yourself

Usage examples:

The opposition is making a lot of political capital out of the government's failure to invest in ed…

Meanings of Make-certain:

phrase

To take action so that you are certain that something happens, is true, etc.

Usage examples:

I'll just make sure i've turned the oven off., make certain/sure (that) make certain (that) we have…

Meanings of Make-claim-to:

idiom

To not be trying to make people believe that you are a particular thing

Usage examples:

I make no claim to be a brilliant pianist, but i can play a few tunes.

Meanings of Make-clean:

collocation

To end a relationship with someone or a connection with something suddenly and completely

Usage examples:

When a relationship ends, it's often best to make a clean break., when she retired, it was expected…

Meanings of Make-clear:

phrase

Something you say in order to emphasize what you have just said, or to express your authority

Usage examples:

I will not tolerate this behaviour any longer. do i make myself clear?, if you speak to me like tha…

Meanings of Make-contact:

collocation

To succeed in communicating with someone or something, especially by speaking or writing to them

Usage examples:

She finally made contact with him in italy., he made contact with the organization and offered to d…

Meanings of Make-contact-with:

collocation

To succeed in communicating with someone or something, especially by speaking or writing to them

Usage examples:

She finally made contact with him in italy., he made contact with the organization and offered to d…

Meanings of Make-do:

idiom

To manage to live without things that you would like to have or with things of a worse quality than you would like

Usage examples:

We didn't have cupboards so we made do with boxes., you can't make him go if he doesn't want to., t…

Meanings of Make-do-with:

idiom

To use what is available although it is not enough or what you wanted

Usage examples:

Can you make do with $5 for now and i’ll give you the rest tomorrow?