make good

1. Carry out successfully, make sure of, as in He made good his escape . This usage was first recorded in 1606.

2. Fulfill, as in She made good her promise . This usage was first recorded in Miles Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible (II Chronicles 6:16): “Make good unto my father, David ... that which thou hast promised him.”

3. Compensate for, make up for, as in They made good the loss . This usage first appeared in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377).

4. Succeed, as in He made good as a writer . [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

Andrew said he recognised that public services needed to be paid for and that if tax rises needed to happen to pay for them then "you've got to make good" yourself.

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The company has already simplified its pricing and says it is making good progress with a turnaround plan.

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“We continued to make good progress with our strategic objectives in the quarter, against what remains a tough market backdrop,” Chief Executive Regis Schultz said.

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Or had he made good on his threat to seek out her own long-lost parents, wherever they might be?

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“Good goulash makes good school,” the archduchess declared.

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Related Words

• accomplish 
• achieve 
• close 
• conclude 
• determine 
• develop 
• do 
• end 
• execute 
• finalize 
• finish 
• halt 
• perform 
• realize 
• settle 
• wrap up