make-do

[ meyk-doo ]
See synonyms for: make-domake-dos on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural make-dos.
  1. something that serves as a substitute, especially of an inferior or expedient nature: We had to get along with make-dos during the war.

adjective
  1. used as a substitute; makeshift: make-do curtains.

Origin of make-do

1
First recorded in 1890–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

Other Idioms and Phrases with make-do

make-do

Get along with the means available, especially insufficient means. For example, We'll just have to make do with one potato apiece. [c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.