First recorded in 1890–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, Ukrainians are showing the resilience and make-do attitude that have frustrated Moscow’s efforts to pummel them into submission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
It’s tempting to argue that “One Battle’s” all-but-inevitable Oscar victory is a make-do for the half-dozen times Anderson should have won before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Her upbringing during the war instilled in Biddy an ability to make-do and mend which later became part of the Blue Peter ethos.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
A flick of a match, and the make-do candle is lit.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
“Your make-do is better than the Ritz,” I said, helping myself to some more chicken and dumplings.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
But staff members have had to make do with indoor swamp coolers and fans, said Darlene Lopez, the manager at the animal hospital, in an interview with The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
In Denver, some neighborhoods make do with narrow strips of concrete—really just widened curbs—that are mysteriously known as “Hollywood sidewalks.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The combination of high prices and slower wage growth means Americans have to make do with less, at least until inflation begins to recede again.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
At first the curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago had to make do with photos of the animal.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
She’ll have to make do with Vaseline until she gets to a larger city.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Between those two poles lies the observation that popular collar stay make-dos include paper clips, strips of business cards, and—hat tip to Heloise—wood coffee stirrers.
From Slate ● Mar. 12, 2014
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.
