make way
Idioms-
Allow room for passage, move aside, as in Please make way for the wheelchair . This expression was first recorded about 1200.
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Also, make way for . Leave room for a successor or substitute, as in It's time he retired and made way for some younger professor . [Mid-1700s]
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Progress, advance, as in Is this enterprise making way? [Late 1500s] For a synonym, see make headway .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The museum’s opening on Sept. 22 in Exposition Park will mark the culmination of Lucas’ long search for a viable site, and L.A.’s campaign to convince him the city would make way for it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Gail Roberts was the last remaining resident of Queensway in Derby after her home was among 15 included in a compulsory purchase order to make way for the A38 upgrade.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
And this followed the history of Chinatown having been relocated to make way for Union Station, and residents of Chavez Ravine being relocated to make way for Dodger Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
A Labour lawmaker in the northern district of Makerfield agreed to make way for Burnham to run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
They watched as the sleek car pulled past all the mud-splattered trucks and inched forward into the crowd, which parted quickly to make way.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
