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The Phrasal Verb 'Make Up' Explained

Updated: Jan 7

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'make up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context.

A young girl applying make up to a man's face

Photo: Pexels


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.


This article is all about the phrasal verb 'make up', which is definitely one that you will have come across before as it is super common. It may be that you are already familiar with one or more of its different meanings, however in this post we will look at all of them, including inventing stories, making a decision and applying cosmetics. So, without further do, let's get started.


Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'make up' 😊


MAKE UP: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the tables, click here 

Usage

Common

Number of meanings

7

Past tense forms

Made up / Made up

Separable?

Sometimes


 

THE BASICS

The letters A-G spelled out in different coloured plasticine
Photo: Pexels

The phrasal verb 'make up' is formed of the verb 'to make' and the prepositional particle 'up' and before we explore its different meanings, let's first take a look at these individual words to understand their meanings.


The verb 'to make' is a very common verb and is often confused by English learners with the verb 'to do' as the two are quite similar and can often be translated into other languages as the same word. While both verbs have numerous applications in English, 'to make' primarily conveys the concept of creation and production, whereas 'to do' typically involves performing an action. This concept of 'to make' will be useful to keep in mind when we look at the different uses of 'make up' shortly.


We are going to make a cake today.
John made a lot of noise when he got home last night and woke his wife.
Have the children made a mess in the living room?

Next we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is typically used to denote a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑ or an increase of some sort. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'up' can many different ideas or meanings, including completion, improvement, preparation and appearance among other things.


When we combine these words, there is no literal meaning whatsoever, so let's now just move straight on to the different figurative meanings of 'make up'.....

 

MEANING 1: To make peace after an argument

Two people shaking hands in the sunlight

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CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Medium

Separable

No

Potential synonyms

To reconcile, to make peace, to patch things up

Let's start off the meanings of 'make up' with some positive vibes. For this first application, we are going to need the additional preposition 'with' and the reason for this is that the construction 'to make up with someone' means to reconcile or become friends with them again following an argument or disagreement.


'Make up' is not just limited to friendships though, and is equally used to talk about romantic couples who have disagreements and / or break up and then make peace again afterwards. You should note that the use of this meaning is, however, limited to personal relationships where people's emotions are at play and is not really used to describe business or professional relationships.


All John and Helen seem to do is break up and then make up the next day.
I wish you and your brother would make up!
She's deeply offended and refuses to make up with me.

One expression that we often use in a tongue-in-cheek* way to talk about when people reconcile following a dispute or argument is "to kiss and make up". This is used regardless of whether or not the people in question are friends or in a romantic relationship.


Oh my goodness, would you two just kiss and make up and end this ridiculous argument!
 

MEANING 2: To invent a story or information

A man typing something on a typewriter

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CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Common

Separable?

Yes

​Potential synonyms

To create

Used commonly with

Story, excuse, character, information

For our second usage of 'make up', we are entering into the realm of fantasy and fairy tales as the meaning is 'to invent or create something that does not exist by using the powers of our imagination'. These imaginary creations can range from stories, characters and people to excuses, lies and false information. The key idea is that it is created in our imagination and is not real.


Unsurprisingly, this meaning is used very commonly with children who tend to enjoy making up stories, characters and scenarios as part of their play activities. However, as you will know, adults are also very good at creating fictional information, excuses and lies and this usage of 'make up' can therefore be used with both innocent and immoral intent.


Aside from the verb form, the past particle 'made-up' is also frequently used as an adjective (note the hyphen) to describe something fictional that someone has invented and as such, you will often hear such terms as "made-up story" and "made-up word", among many others.


When I was a child, I used to make up imaginary friends because I was lonely.
I didn't go to the party - I was too tired so I made up an excuse and said thatI was ill.
Although the novel features made-up characters, the story is based on real life events.

The word 'tips' spelled out using wooden blocks
Photo: Pexels

EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER

There are a couple of well-known expressions of this usage of 'make up' that I really like and want to make you aware of...


You couldn't make it up - We use this expression when talking about things that happen in reality that are so strange or bizarre that a person would not be able to create them using their imagination.


To make it up as you go along - This second expression is used for situations in which we do not know what we are doing and we just do things by instinct, without preparation or planning. We decide how to do it in the present moment (and hope for the best).

 

MEANING 3: To constitute a whole

A pie chart on a card showing different percentages with a pen on top

Photo: Pexels

​CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Common

Separable?

No

Potential synonyms

To constitute

For our third meaning of 'make up', we need to make a 180 degree turn away from the poetic world of fantasy to the much more prosaic and serious world of data, statistics and facts. This meaning of 'make up' is 'to form or to constitute a whole and is used to talk about the different elements or things which combine together to form something bigger or complete.


This meaning of 'make up' is commonly used in statistical information, especially when talking about percentages and fractions.


It is estimated that the 100 most common words in any language make up about 50% of the words regularly used in it.
Greyscale colours currently make up three quarters of cars produced worldwide.

Furthermore, 'make up' is also used when we have already given percentages or proportions and we want to talk about the part that completes the remainder of the group. We can use 'make up' here, often with the 'the rest' or 'the remaining X%'.


The three of us have all paid a quarter of the bill each, so if you could also pay a quarter and make up the rest, it would be great.
In the English exam the weighting of the speaking section is 40%, the listening section is 30% and the reading and writing sections together make up the remaining 30%.

Lastly, it is very common to use the passive form 'made up' with the additional preposition 'of' to express the different things which something consists of.


Air is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, argon and small amounts of many other gases.
All matter is made up of very small particles known as atoms.
 

MEANING 4: To compensate for something

A piece of paper with "Sorry" written on it and a smiley face

Photo: Pexels

CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Medium

Separable?

No

Potential synonyms

To compensate

Our next usage of 'make up' is one that is very common in the workplace. If you work for a company in the anglophone world and you need to take some time off e.g. for a doctor's appointment, your boss may authorise the time off but might also say that you need to make the time up.


The reason for this is because the next usage of 'make up' means to compensate for something that is lost, lacking or missing. The example above with working hours is a very commonly used one in the English speaking world.


Another typical way that this usage of 'make up' can be heard in English is when we have a target or required amount of something e.g. money and we do not have enough of it to reach the target amount. We can use 'make up' here to talk about the amount that is required in order to reach our target amount, i.e. the difference between how much we have and how much we need to have.


A common expression featuring this usage of 'make up' that you may hear is 'to make up for lost time', which we use to describe when we do something more quickly, intensely or regularly, in order to compensate for not having done it in the past. For obvious reasons this is often used by middle-aged and older people, perhaps during or after a midlife crisis!


Yes, you can have the time off this week to go to the funeral but can you please make the time up next week.
Now that my injury has healed I'm training more than ever as I'm making up for lost time!

The word 'tips' spelled out using wooden blocks
Photo: Pexels


EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER

If you are ever in a situation where an English speaker disappoints you in some way, it is likely that they will say sorry (especially British people as we apologise for everything) and that they will make it up to you.


In the case of disappointing someone, as mentioned above, the idea here links back to the first meaning of making peace following an argument, but the focus here is that we are saying we will do something to remove the negative feelings caused by the disappointment (essentially apologising), with the end objective being reconciliation and peace.


Note that the extra particle 'to' is required here to designate the person who we have disappointed and want to make happy again.


Examples of usage....

I'm so sorry that I forgot your birthday. Let me make it up to you by taking you out for a meal.
I can't be there this weekend but I will make it up to you, I promise!
 

MEANING 5: To prepare something from ingredients or parts

Different food ingredients on a green background

Photo: Pexels

​CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Medium

Separable?

No

Potential synonyms

To prepare

Nouns used commonly with

Dish, meal, medication, bed

The fifth usage of 'make up' means to prepare, build or create something by combining different ingredients or parts.

As you can probably imagine from the word 'ingredients', food is frequently used with this meaning of 'make up' and it is very common to use this with any dish or item that can be made by mixing and combining different ingredients together.


Another example of where this meaning of 'make up' is in common usage is with material and fabric where we create garments or curtains. Moreover, we can also say that we 'make up a bed for someone' when we create a new, often temporary, bed for them using blankets etc. This is different to making a bed, where we arrange the blanket and pillows on an existing bed.


Let me give you some tips on how to make up an amazing and tasty casserole.
You can sleep here tonight, I will make up a bed for you in the spare room.
 

MEANING 6: To apply cosmetics

Someone applying lipstick to a woman's lips

Photo: Pexels

CEFR Language Level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Usage

Medium

Separable

Yes

Potential synonyms

To do up, to put on one's face, to do your makeup

For our sixth meaning of 'make up', we are diving into the world of cosmetics. I'm sure that most of you reading will be familiar with the noun makeup, meaning cosmetic products that are used to add colour to the face and change or improve one's appearance. It may therefore come as no surprise to you that the noun makeup is derived directly from our sixth phrasal verb meaning, which is to apply cosmetics to the face and body.


For this usage, reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself etc.) are required when talking about a person who is applying their own makeup. This is of course not the case for people who get their makeup applied by somebody else e.g. actors and celebrities.


Although this usage is still used in everyday English, I would say that the construction 'to do your makeup' is perhaps more common than this phrasal verb form, but it is good to be aware of it nevertheless.


Lisa made herself up and put on her best evening gown.
 

MEANING 7: To make up your mind

A man holding his head and looking at his laptop

Photo: Pexels

CEFR Language Level

B1 - Intermediate

Usage

Common

​Separable

Yes

Potential synonyms

To decide, to make a decision, to choose

This final meaning of 'make up' that I want to bring to your attention means to make a decision and is used in the construction "to make up your mind". This is actually more of an idiomatic expression than an entirely different meaning, but it is so common that I wanted to include it as a separate meaning of its own.


The structure of this expression is flexible and 'mind' can be placed both in the middle of and after the phrasal verb 'make up', without changing the meaning.


John took ages to make up his mind about what food to order at the restaurant.
I've made my mind up about where I want to go to university.
 
The word 'bonus' spelled out by different coloured balloons being held up by different people's hands
Photo: Pexels

One extra thing to make you aware of before the end of this post is the expression "to be made up about something". This is a common idiomatic expression in British English to mean to be delighted or extremely happy about something, normally good news.


That's amazing news! I'm made up for you.
Roger is made up about his new work contract!
 
The words 'Thank You' written on a card with a heart underneath
Photo: Pexels

We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking and reading. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. 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 up'. 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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Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊


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Guest
Sep 25, 2024

Thank you for using a readable font size. Here is a sentence in which "made up" means "planned." I can't come up with a reason, but when a pronoun is used for the sense of "fabricate," the non-separable form is used only by language learners. Specifically, I would expect this form until a child is about 9 years old.

  1. We spoke on the phone last week and made up to meet after work on Tuesday.

  2. We made up an explanation. We made an explanation up.

  3. X We made up it.

  4. We made it up.

MichelleKGross https://grosslearning.blogspot.com

Edited
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James
Sep 29, 2024
Replying to

Hi and thanks for your comment. That's really interesting, I will give it some thought. I'll check out your blog too!

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Guest
Mar 19, 2024

I am MADE UP to learn about these different meanings of make up 😀

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James
Mar 19, 2024
Replying to

I am made up that you are made up! Thanks for the comment 😁

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