making
Americannoun
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the act of a person or thing that makes.
The making of a violin requires great skill.
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structure; constitution; makeup.
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the means or cause of success or advancement.
to be the making of someone.
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Usually makings. capacity or potential.
He has the makings of a first-rate officer.
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makings,
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something made.
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the quantity made.
a making of butter.
idioms
noun
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the act of a person or thing that makes or the process of being made
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( in combination )
watchmaking
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to cause the success of
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in the process of becoming or being made
a politician in the making
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something made or the quantity of something made at one time
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make-up; composition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of making
First recorded before 1150; Middle English; Old English macung; make 1 + -ing 1
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.
See Examples For:
Noehring hopes to one day organise a real world meet-up with her virtual community, and Isa says the support has given her the "push" she needed to start thinking about making friends again.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Ceuta, along with the nearby Spanish enclave of Melilla, forms the European Union’s only land border with Africa, making it a longstanding flashpoint in debates over migration.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Bass’ team said she had qualified for about $576,000 in matching funds, making her total just under $750,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The homeowners also put in between $35,000 to $40,000 because they wanted to update the older kitchen on top of making the insurance-covered repairs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
“I took your advice about making my priorities priorities again, and told my dad what my plans were. It didn’t go very well.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Serve it with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro and a flavorful salsa, and you have the makings of an outdoor taco night that largely takes care of itself.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
"We realised we had a drummer and a few different players. Once we started meeting regularly, we realised we had the makings of a band."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The idea of the government watching you is not just the makings of an Orwell novel or a political thriller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
It’s hardly the makings of a global depression, but it will surely deliver more persistent pain than markets are currently pricing in.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
The dog, the trees, the little house all alone on the top of a hill—this, Genie thought, was definitely the makings of a scary movie.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
