on the make
Idioms-
Seeking personal gain, as in Tom's a young man on the make—he doesn't care whom he offends . [ Slang ; second half of 1800s]
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Looking for sexual conquest, as in After several affairs, Peter got the reputation of being a man on the make . [ Slang ; c. 1920]
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.
Mr. Restall’s Columbus was a man on the make, a social climber who used his marriage in 1479 to Felipa Moniz, the daughter of a minor aristocrat, to further his standing.
He can afford to pay more now, but would the 28-year-old Mitt still on the make have thought so?
Melissa went on the make a second landfall in eastern Cuba still as a major hurricane and brought widespread damage and flooding.
From BBC
What they saw was a lonely old woman in need of a companion, and a cunning outsider on the make.
From BBC
I confess it was more than a little jarring to see my beloved scatterbrained Mrs. Oliver turned into Fey’s stylish, fast-talking writer on the make.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
