tailor-make
Americanverb (used with object)
Usage
What does tailor-make mean? Tailor-make means to make to fit the needs or specifications of a particular situation, object, or person. It means to make something in the way that a tailor would make a piece of clothing for someone by fitting it to their exact measurements and needs. Tailor-make can be used in the context of clothing, but it’s more often used in a figurative sense, meaning the same thing as custom-make: to make something to unique specifications so that it fits perfectly and it’s one of a kind. Things made in such a way can be described with the adjective tailor-made, which can mean literally made by a tailor, or, more generally, made to unique specifications—or seeming to have been made that way. Example: We tailor-make a curriculum for each student to meet their individual needs.
Etymology
Origin of tailor-make
First recorded in 1895–1900
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:
"It's hard to tailor-make clothes for them, so to speak."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2023
You can’t tailor-make regional climates because the whole climate system is coupled together.
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2016
Photograph: Soheil Riahi/Alamy Independent travel isn’t allowed in Iran, Brits must book a group trip, but you can tailor-make one with a minimum of two people with some operators, and on a budget.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 31, 2015
"You have to tailor-make the show so they feel it belongs to them. And you don't just pick out one person; you pick like 10 people, then weave their stories together."
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2014
But someone with poor heart health might require a reduced-sodium meal, so the center works to tailor-make some of its meals.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2014
A sizable firepit in the yard itself looks tailor-made for family game nights or s’mores sessions, and is surrounded by a lush green lawn and elegant landscaping.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Is it worth paying 0.99% a year for an ETF tailor-made for E.T.?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The ability to rapidly generate a counter-narrative, complete with the imprimatur of an “AI tribunal,” is tailor-made for an attention economy where perception often outruns verification.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
The name of the role suggests that the character is tailor-made for Reese.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
I agreed with the earl and thought of an argument tailor-made for Father.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
With a list of ages and genders in hand, Lucy set about tailor-making each bag - all of which include new socks, underwear, and things like colouring books, pencils, toiletries, shower gel and toothpaste.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2021
In an era of tailor-making everything consumed and experienced to specific tastes, one size is no longer permitted to fit all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2018
“The stone matching — it’s almost like fitting a dress or tailor-making a suit,” said Susan Wertheim, deputy administrator for capital projects.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2016
This leaves the heavy-duty field wide open for smaller companies, which thrive by tailor-making trucks ranging from $6,500 highway tractors to $75,000 giants that can haul 49 tons of iron ore.
From Time Magazine Archive
While Japan has a small army of English-speaking businessmen in the U.S. studying the American market and tailor-making products to sell in the U.S.,
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
