making
Americannoun
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makings
plural
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the act of a person or thing that makes.
The making of a violin requires great skill.
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structure; constitution; makeup.
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the means or cause of success or advancement.
to be the making of someone.
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Usually makings. capacity or potential.
He has the makings of a first-rate officer.
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makings,
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something made.
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the quantity made.
a making of butter.
idioms
noun
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the act of a person or thing that makes or the process of being made
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( in combination )
watchmaking
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to cause the success of
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in the process of becoming or being made
a politician in the making
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something made or the quantity of something made at one time
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make-up; composition
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of making
First recorded before 1150; Middle English; Old English macung; make 1 + -ing 1
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:
“I always had it in the back of my mind it could happen,” De Paula said of making his debut this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Christopher A. Marinello, the boss of Art Recovery International that recovers stolen art, says only 5-10% of stolen art is ever recovered, making thefts from small museums like this week's "extra painful".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
His comments were echoed by Evan Hubinger, a researcher whose job at Anthropic is making sure AI doesn’t kill us all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
“She is simply making society look at itself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I glance down at the water, certain that the hooves of the two thousand wild horses galloping through my chest are making ripples in the water.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Serve it with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro and a flavorful salsa, and you have the makings of an outdoor taco night that largely takes care of itself.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
"We realised we had a drummer and a few different players. Once we started meeting regularly, we realised we had the makings of a band."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
“We perhaps have the makings of a deal here,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to confirm any agreement but said that "we perhaps have the makings of a deal here."
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Therein, of course, lay the chief problem and the makings for an apparently inevitable tragedy.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
