make-do
noun
something that serves as a substitute, especially of an inferior or expedient nature.
make-do
American
[mayk-doo]
/ ˈmeɪkˌdu /
noun
-
make-dos
plural
adjective
make do
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of make-do
First recorded in 1890–95
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:
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
And its make-do culture, using whatever is at hand, which often led to comical scenes in settings like museums.
From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2022
“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
So you always make do, and I think punk rock is about making do with what you’ve got and making it spectacular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
In saying that, striker Kieron Bowie and wingers Findlay Curtis and Ben Gannon-Doak had to make do with being substitutes over the weekend for Sassuolo, Rangers and Bournemouth respectively.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Characters forced to make do either lash out, like raging overreactors on Lee Sung Jin’s petty, brutal “Beef,” or fall into holding patterns, like the unlucky in love leads of Issa Rae’s dramedy “Insecure.”
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
To keep going, he tries "not to think too much about the problems" and to make do "with the little one has."
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
From the tiny impressions gleaned from one another, they created a sense of belonging and tried to make do with the way they found each other.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
