Showing results for "making"

• present participle of make.

making

American  

[mey-king] / ˈmeɪ kɪŋ /

noun

• makings
  plural

1. the act of a person or thing that makes.

   The making of a violin requires great skill.

2. structure; constitution; makeup.

3. the means or cause of success or advancement.

   to be the making of someone.

4. Usually makings. capacity or potential.

   He has the makings of a first-rate officer.

5. makings,

   1. material of which something may be made.

      the makings for a tossed salad.

   2. Older Slang. paper and tobacco with which to make a hand-rolled cigarette.

6. something made.

7. the quantity made.

   a making of butter.

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idioms

1. in the making, in the process of being made; developing or evolving; growing.

   Our space scientists see history in the making.

making British  

/ ˈmeɪkɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the act of a person or thing that makes or the process of being made

   2. ( in combination )

      watchmaking

2. to cause the success of

3. in the process of becoming or being made

   a politician in the making

4. something made or the quantity of something made at one time

5. make-up; composition

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-making
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• makings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of making

First recorded before 1150; Middle English; Old English macung; make ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

making makings

That’s because some idiosyncratic factors contributed to these recent growth rates, making it even less likely they will persist indefinitely.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

Even back in the 1970s, she was keenly aware that pop hits like Houston’s were bigger business than the country hits she was making.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Big Sur’s micro-climate makes firefighting complicated: The relative humidity drops at night, making fires grow rapidly, Silveira has said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” she said.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026

Today, 79 percent of Filipinos are Catholic, making it one of the most Catholic nations in the world.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Add Evan McCalister of Valencia, Ezrah Brown of Orange Lutheran and Jeremy Mellalieu of Chaminade and you have the makings of a stellar sophomore class.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

From a distance, the movie has the makings of a classic.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 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

It’s hardly the makings of a global depression, but it will surely deliver more persistent pain than markets are currently pricing in.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

When she found that he knew nothing, and yet had spellbound the goats to come to him and follow him, then she saw that he must have in him the makings of power.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

• formulation