make
vt ( made pt, pp)
(gen) faire
→ Sheila makes her own bread.
→ We made a terrible racket as we came out of the club.
→ He made a speech about the need for unity.
→ You have made a terrible mistake.
I'm going to make a cake. Je vais faire un gâteau.
He made it himself. Il l'a fait lui-même.
She'll make a good teacher. Elle fera un bon professeur.
What makes a good doctor? Qu'est-ce qui fait un bon médecin?
to make one's bed faire son lit
→ When I worked in a hotel I spent all my time making beds.
I make my bed every morning. Je fais mon lit tous les matins.
to be made of sth être en qch
it's made of glass c'est en verre
a cross made of silver une croix en argent
[+meal] préparer
She's making lunch. Elle prépare le déjeuner.
(=manufacture) faire, fabriquer
→ The firm makes a wide range of electrical goods.
"made in France" "fabriqué en France"
[+money] gagner
→ He was making nine hundred dollars a week.
→ I made a lot of money at the roulette table that night.
He makes a lot of money. Il gagne beaucoup d'argent.
to make a profit faire des bénéfices
to make a loss subir une perte
→ Last year we made a loss of $50,000, but we are determined to make a profit next year.
(=cause to become)
to make sb sad rendre qn triste
to make sb angry mettre qn en colère
→ The whole business makes me really angry.
to make sb famous rendre qn célèbre
→ James Bond, the role that made Sean Connery famous
to make sth into sth (=convert) transformer qch en qch
an old factory that was made into an art gallery une ancienne usine qui a été transformée en galerie d'art
(=force)
to make sb do sth obliger qn à faire qch, faire faire qch à qn
→ It's not my fault, he made me do it!
→ His mother made him tidy his bedroom.
My mother makes me do my homework. Ma mère me fait faire mes devoirs.
to make o.s. do sth se forcer à faire qch
(=equal) faire
2 and 2 make 4. Deux et deux font quatre.
(time) what time do you make it? quelle heure avez-vous?
I make it two minutes past three j'ai trois heures deux
(=arrive)
to make it y arriver
We made it with a minute or two to spare. On y est arrivé avec une ou deux minutes d'avance.
So you did make it to America, after all? Alors, tu y es arrivé aux Etats-Unis, finalement?
(=succeed)
to make it réussir
→ You're brave and resourceful. You can make it.
to make it as sth réussir comme qch
He failed to make it as a pilot. Il n'a pas réussi comme pilote.
to make something of o.s. (=achieve success) faire quelque chose de sa vie
→ I was determined to show I could still make something of myself
to make something of one's life (=achieve success) faire quelque chose de sa vie
→ I urged him to make something of his life
to make sth (=ensure the success of) faire le succès de qch
What really makes the book are the illustrations. Ce sont les illustrations qui font le succès de ce livre.
to make sb's day, Meeting you has really made my day! Ça m'a fait un plaisir fou de vous rencontrer!
make or break faire ou défaire
→ she, more than anyone, has the power to make or break the prosecution's attempts to persuade the Senate.
→ Many musicians are overawed by the apparent power agents have to make or break their careers via their contacts in the business.
to make do with sth (=be content with) se contenter de qch
→ you have to make do with tantalising fragments
(=get by with) se débrouiller avec qch
→ We'll just have to make do with ten players.
→ the unit has to make do with one nurse for every two patients
n
(=brand) marque f
→ She couldn't tell what make of car he was driving.
to be on the make [person] (=trying to make money) chercher à se remplir les poches
→ people believe that most politicians are on the make
▲make for
vt fus
[+place] se diriger vers
→ He rose from his seat and made for the door
▲make of
vt sep
to make sth of sth (=think of)
She wasn't sure what to make of his apology. Elle ne savait pas quoi penser de ses excuses., Elle ne savait pas que penser de ses excuses.
→ Nancy wasn't sure what to make of Mick's apology.
→ What did you make of the Prime Minister's speech last night?
What did you make of it? Qu'est-ce que tu en as pensé?
▲make off
vi (=leave) filer
→ They made off in a stolen car.
→ Otto made off with the last of the brandy.
▲make out
vt sep
(=write out)
[+cheque, bill] libeller, faire
→ I made a cheque out for 300 pounds.
to make a cheque out to sb libeller un chèque à l'ordre de qn
(=understand) comprendre
→ It's difficult to make out what he says.
I can't make her out at all. Je n'arrive pas du tout à la comprendre.
(=decipher)
[+writing] déchiffrer
I can't make out the address on the label. Je n'arrive pas à déchiffrer l'adresse sur l'étiquette.
(=see) distinguer
→ I could just make out the outline of the house.
(=claim)
to make out (that) ... prétendre que ..., vouloir faire croire que ...
They're making out it was my fault. Ils prétendent que c'était ma faute., Ils veulent faire croire que c'était ma faute.
It's not as hard as people make out. Ce n'est pas aussi dur qu'on ne le prétend., Ce n'est pas aussi dur qu'on ne veut le faire croire.
(=pretend)
to make out (that) ... prétendre que ...
He made out he was looking for something. Il a prétendu qu'il cherchait quelque chose.
→ He opened a drawer and made out that he was looking for something.
(=put forward)
to make out a case for sth présenter des arguments en faveur de qch
→ You could certainly make out a case for this point of view.
→ can we make out a case claiming discrimination?
→ the British Bird Council is going to make out a case for these birds to be added to Schedule 3
▲make over
vt sep (=assign)
to make sth over to sb céder qch à qn
→ The land was made over to the Council for building purposes.
▲make up
vt fus (=constitute) représenter
→ Women make up two-fifths of the British labour force.
to be made up of se composer de
→ Nearly half the Congress is made up of lawyers.
vt sep
(=invent) inventer
→ He was very good at making up excuses.
He made up the whole story. Il a inventé cette histoire de toutes pièces.
(with cosmetics)
[+client, actor] maquiller
→ She chose Maggie to make her up for her engagement photographs.
to make o.s. up se maquiller
She spends hours making herself up. Elle passe des heures à se maquiller.
[+bed]
to make up a bed préparer un lit
→ Let me make up a bed for you.
to make up the bed faire le lit
[+parcel] faire
vi se réconcilier
They had a quarrel, but soon made up. Ils se sont disputés, mais se sont vite réconciliés.
to make up with sb se réconcilier avec qn
→ They should make up with their old enemies.
(with cosmetics) se maquiller, se farder
▲make up for
vt fus
(=provide compensation for)
[+stress, loss] compenser
→ I'm sorry I broke your vase - I'll make up for it.
What the country lacks in natural resources it makes up for in bright ideas. Le pays compense son manque de ressources naturelles par des idées brillantes.
▲make up to
vt sep
to make it up to sb, I'll make it up to you, I promise. Je te revaudrai ça, je te promets.
→ Tell her you love her, know how much she is hurt and that you will try to make it up to her.
make-believe
n
(=fantasy) illusion f
→ I always thought it was just make-believe
→ we know it's a Scotland of make believe - albeit a Scotland we can sell
→ Anyone with half a brain will see this is make-believe
It's just make-believe. C'est une illusion.
a world of make-believe un monde d'illusions
→ He escapes into the world of make-believe.
a life of make-believe une vie de faux-semblants
→ She squandered millions on a life of make-believe.
[+children]
to play at make-believe jouer à faire semblant
→ She used to play games of make-believe with her elder sister.
modif
a make-believe world un monde d'illusions
→ The man lived in a make-believe world surrounded by bizarre props including a pilot's raincoat and a microlite aircraft that he had never flown ...
→ people whose make-believe world is far removed from real life
make-or-break , make or break
adj
[issue, game, meeting] décisif (-ive)
it's make or break time (=the decisive moment) c'est le moment décisif
make-up , makeup
n
(=cosmetics) maquillage m
→ Normally she wore little make-up, but this evening was clearly an exception.
(=character) [+person] caractère m
→ There was some fatal flaw in his makeup, and as time went on he began drinking more heavily.
[+substance, thing] constitution f
the chemical make-up of the atmosphere la constitution chimique de l'atmosphère
make-up artist
n maquilleur (-euse) m/f
make-up bag
n trousse f de maquillage
make-up remover
n démaquillant m