make way
Idioms-
Allow room for passage, move aside, as in Please make way for the wheelchair . This expression was first recorded about 1200.
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Also, make way for . Leave room for a successor or substitute, as in It's time he retired and made way for some younger professor . [Mid-1700s]
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Progress, advance, as in Is this enterprise making way? [Late 1500s] For a synonym, see make headway .
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.
Josh Simons announced he would step down as Labour MP for Makerfield to make way for Burnham to mount a bid to return to Parliament.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
The embattled premier "is expected to announce on Monday that he will step down as prime minister after overwhelming pressure from Labour MPs to make way for Andy Burnham", Britain's Guardian newspaper said.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
Now, many local leaders want to see them bulldozed to make way for new, denser housing—igniting an outcry on the edge of unbroken wilderness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Some investors are now cutting exposure to other areas to make way for looming mega-scaled IPOs from SpaceX and OpenAI, he added.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
“Doctor Snow,” Viola says to me, scooting off the bed to make way.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
