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.
Police had to shut down the normally busy streets to make way for crowds.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
The cafeteria in the adjacent building, located between the adult and youth sections, has been demolished to make way for a classroom.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
In a bid to make way for the 18,000-square-foot mansion, Wasserman also purchased the property next door, which once belonged to music legend Frank Sinatra.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026
“I usually make way more than I need, so then I’ll turn it into a soup afterwards. They’re pretty forgiving in a soup.”
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026
Puff Daddy and Mase poured from the stereo, the bass thumping so loud she could feel it in her throat, then faded back to make way for Notorious B.I.G.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
