The Phrasal Verb 'Make Out' Explained
- Phrasal Verbs Explained
- 13 minutes ago
- 12 min read
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'make out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
Did you know that the phrasal verb 'make out' has at least 7 different meanings and uses in the English language? Were you aware that, for example, it can be used in American English to refer to sex, while in British English you are more likely to hear it in reference to making payments? Don't worry if you didn't know because in this post, I will explain all of these applications to you and provide you with a lot of example sentences to show you how each one is used and in which contexts. So, without further ado, let's get started....
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'make' and 'out'
Meaning 1: To discern
Meaning 2: To falsely claim to be true
Meaning 3: To complete an official document
Meaning 4: To be sexually intimate with someone
Meaning 5: To understand someone's character
Meaning 6: To succeed in a situation
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THE BASICS
MAKE OUT: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 6 |
Past tense forms | Made out / Made out |
Separable? | Sometimes |
The phrasal verb ‘make out’ is formed by combining the individual words ‘make’ and ‘out’ and so before we look at its meanings, let’s first briefly consider what these words mean on their own.
Our base verb, ‘to make’, is one of the most common verbs in the English language, appearing in a wide variety of applications and expressions. Its main meanings include 'to produce', 'to create' and 'to cause', although it has many others that are too numerous to include here. Don't forget that 'to make' is an irregular verb and both of its past forms are 'made'.
The company makes cars and sells them all over the world.
My baby makes a lot of noise when he cries.
Why have you made such a mess?!
My parents made me go to university although I didn't want to.
Working hard makes me tired.
MAKE OR DO? There is often some confusion with English learners about when to use 'to make' and when to use 'to do'. A simple tip for this is that we use 'to make' when we talk about creating or producing something that did not exist before, while 'to do' is used more to talk about performing processes or actions. This is English however and there are of course many exceptions to this. |
Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which you should all know as a word that functions as the opposite of 'in' and is primarily used to refer to being situated on or moving towards an external space. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'out' can often add this external meaning (go out, get out) but it can also add ideas such as revelation (come out), distribution (give out), removal (cut out) and trying (check out), among others.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's now consider the different ways that we can use the phrasal verb 'make out'....
MEANING 1: To discern
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To discern, to tell, to determine, to figure out, to identify |
Separable? | Sometimes |
Let's begin the meanings with the one that I probably hear more than any of the others and that is 'to discern'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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In case you are not sure, the verb 'to discern' means 'to see, understand or recognise something when it is not very clear'. In other words, you need to make an effort to process the information and this is exactly how we use this first application of 'make out'.
Typically, we use 'make out' with our senses of sight and hearing when we can see or hear something but it is not clear and so we have to focus on it. Once we are able to identify what it is with the appropriate sense, we can say that we can "make it out".
Often, we add different adverbs like 'just', 'barely' and 'hardly' before 'make out' to emphasise that something was very difficult to identify and we were almost not able to do it.
The lady had a very strong accent but I was just able to make out what she was saying.
From this distance, it's hard to make out the writing on the whiteboard.
I could barely make out the road signs through the thick fog.
Walter tried to make out the figure moving in the shadows.
Over the noise of the crowd, I could just make out my brother's voice calling my name.
Through the static on the phone, I could hardly make out a word.
As this application is used when something is not clear or easy for us to understand, it is often used in questions and negative statements too.
Marianne spoke so quietly that I couldn't make out everything that she said.
Can you make out what that label says? My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be.
Were you able to make out what Astrid was trying to tell us?
How could the suspect make out the license plate in the dark?
Could you make out the words in the background of the recording?
We weren’t able to make out the instructions because of the poor handwriting.
Louise couldn’t make out the number on the caller ID.
On a grammatical note, although it is possible to use this application separably, we tend to use it in a separable way far more often than an inseparable one. The main exception is when the direct object has already been specified and we can use the pronoun 'it', which always goes between 'make' and 'out'.
What was John whispering to us? I couldn't make it out!
My 3 year old daughter drew a picture but I couldn't make it out, so I just smiled and said "very good".
MEANING 2: To falsely claim to be true
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To claim, to pretend, to let on |
Separable? | Yes |
We will move on to our second meaning of 'make out' now, which is also heard a lot in everyday conversation and means 'to falsely claim to be true'.
To clarify, in its purest form, we use this particular application of 'make out' to say or to pretend that something is true when it is not. Sometimes, it can also be used to exaggerate something and make it seem bigger, more important or better than it really is.
On a grammatical note, there are different structures that we use with this application, so I will explain each one and provide you with some examples....
To make out that....
Perhaps the most common way to use 'make out' in this way is with a 'that' subordinate clause. This is particularly when we want to paraphrase (express in different words) what somebody has said.
Donna made out that she was an expert, but in fact she had no real experience.
The company made out that their product was environmentally friendly, but it wasn't.
Why did Tim make out that he owned the place? It was obvious that he didn't.
Alex wasn’t trying to make out that he was innocent; he admitted everything.
To make out to be...
An alternative way to express this would be the construction 'to make out to be', which is commonly followed by a noun, an adjective or a combination of both. It is also possible to use a reflexive '-self' pronoun here to talk about how a person lies or exaggerates about themselves or their abilities in some way.
They were making it out to be a serious problem, but it was a minor one at most.
Who made it out to be such a big deal?
Lucy made herself out to be the victim, even though she was the one who started the argument.
Did Emily make herself out to be more qualified than she really is?
To make out as if / as though / like....
We can use the phrases 'as though' and 'as if' as well as 'like' after 'make out' to describe false claims and fictional situations that people try to say are true.
The managers made out as though they had solved the issue, but nothing had changed.
Steve made out like he knew the manager personally, but it was all a lie.
Sophie made out as if she had been seriously hurt, but it was just a small scratch.
Bill’s making out as though he single-handedly saved the project, which simply isn’t true.
To be made out to be....
Lastly, it is quite common to use the passive voice with this application of 'make out'. This is often when you are discussing the reputation that a person or a place has which is not true, exaggerated or undeserved.
The passer-by was made out to be the villain, even though he tried to help.
Carol was made out to be some kind of genius, but her work was average.
The incident was made out to be more serious than it actually was.
Los Angeles is made out to be this big, glamorous city but it didn't feel like that when I visited there.
MEANING 3: To complete an official document
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To fill out, to fill in, to complete |
Separable? | Yes |
Moving on to our third meaning of 'make out' now, which is one that is not as common as the first two but one that you may still hear nevertheless and means 'to complete an official document'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We can use this application of 'make out' for any paperwork on which we need to provide details in written or in text form. This mostly includes official forms and documents but can also be used with things like receipts and invoices.
I would say that generally in British English, we are far more likely to use the synonym phrasal verbs 'fill out' and 'fill in' but in American English 'make out' is still fairly common.
The cashier made out a receipt for my purchase.
Sue made out the invoice and sent it to her customer.
They made out the application in less than ten minutes.
Poppy hasn't made out the form yet — it's still blank.
Can you make out the order form before we leave?
Who made out the invoice last time?
GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!
In addition to those nouns already mentioned, when I think of this application of 'make out', one noun comes to mind immediately, which is 'cheque' (US check). When talking about cheques, we use 'make out' with the additional preposition 'to' in order to specify the person who will receive the money. Of course, the use of cheques is becoming less and less common as technology advances and banking is more and more electronic but just in case you do still use them, this may prove to be useful!
Chuck made out a check for $500 to the contractor.
Please make the cheque out to me.
I made the cheque out to Mary Smith but she has changed her name to Mary Jones.
Lastly, one unofficial document that we sometimes use 'make out' with is a card, such as a birthday or Christmas card. As with cheques, we use 'make out + to' to specify the person to whom we send the card.
Who am I making the thank you card out to?
I didn't make the card out to anyone in particular, just the team.
MEANING 4: To be sexually intimate with someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | American English |
Potential synonyms | To kiss, to have sex |
Separable? | No |
This next application of 'make out' is an American one that means 'to be sexually intimate with someone' and this may be one that you have heard if you watch a lot of English-language entertainment from the USA.
As a native speaker of British English, I have known 'make out' in this sense for most of my life as American TV shows and movies are incredibly popular here, however I have to admit that I'd never been 100% sure exactly what it meant until I was researching this blog post. In some situations, it seemed to mean 'to kiss someone' and in others it seemed to mean 'to have sex with someone' and I was never certain.
It turns out that it is both of these things and so I think to keep it simple, let's just say that it means 'to be sexually intimate with another person in any way'. Therefore, it can be used to describe anything ranging from kissing someone amorously (French kissing) to having sex, although it is used much more to describe kissing and foreplay.
The central idea here is that there is sexual intent behind the action and so it would not be used to talk about kisses between family members or friends etc. As you can imagine, this one is heard a lot in the conversations of teenagers and young people.
They were making out on the couch when their roommates walked in.
Victoria caught her ex making out with someone new at the party.
We spent most of the night just talking and making out.
He bragged to his friends about making out with his crush after the party.
The couple was making out in the back row of the movie theatre.
Jack has never made out with a woman before.
MEANING 5: To understand someone's character
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To work out, to understand |
Separable? | Yes |
In the first application of 'make out' that we covered in this post, I explained how we use it to refer to something that is difficult for us to identify or understand and for this next application we are returning to that same idea. This time however we are talking about people and this is because this application means 'to understand someone's character'.
The majority of the time, we use 'make out' in this way when we want to say that we do not understand why a person acts or behaves the way that they do. Alternatively, he or she may be quite mysterious or enigmatic and we may not know much about them or what their motives are. In these sorts of situations, it is possible to say that "we cannot make the person out".
This is in fact a less common synonym of the phrasal verb 'work out' (link here), which we use to mean the same thing. On a grammatical note, we tend to use this application mainly in negative sentences and questions.
I just can't make him out — he's so unpredictable.
He's a bit strange sometimes, so it may take some time to make him out.
She’s been here for weeks, and I still haven’t made her out.
We couldn’t make him out at all; his actions didn’t match his words.
Can you make him out? I can’t tell if he’s serious or just joking.
Did you manage to make him out during the meeting?
MEANING 6: To succeed in a situation
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | American English |
Potential synonyms | To get on, to cope, to succeed |
Separable? | No |
We will finish this post about the phrasal verb 'make out' with another American application that means 'to succeed in a situation'.
To clarify, we can use 'make out' to talk about a person's progress with something such as a new job or a competition. Alternatively, we can use it to talk about how well someone is coping or dealing with the situation, which often tends to be something new in their lives.
As people are often curious to learn how others are doing, this application is frequently heard in question form.
Like I said before, this is an American usage not one that I would ever use in British English, so make sure you know your audience before using it!
How are you making out in your new job?
Despite the tough competition, she made out pretty well in the tournament.
I heard your business is struggling. How are you making out these days?
He didn't have much experience, but he made out better than expected.
With all the chaos last year, we still made out okay in the end.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'make out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'make out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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