[make little of]{v. phr.} To make (something) seem unimportant; belittle. •/Mary made little of Jane’s new bicycle because she was jealous./ •/Tom made little of his saving the drowning boy./ Contrast: MAKE MUCH OF.

[make love]{v. phr.} 1. To be warm, loving, and tender toward someone of the opposite sex; try to get him or her to love you too. •/There was moonlight on the roses and he made love to her in the porch swing./ 2. To have sexual relations with (someone). •/It is rumored that Alfred makes love to every girl he hires as a secretary./

[make merry]{v. phr.}, {literary} To have fun, laugh, and be happy, •/In Aesop’s fable the grasshopper made merry while the ant worked and saved up food./ •/In the Bible story a rich man ate and drank and made merry./

[make mincemeat (out) of]{v. phr.} To destroy completely. •/The defense attorney made mincemeat of the prosecution’s argument./

[make much of]{v. phr.} To make something seem of more worth or importance than it really is; praise. •/Visitors made much of the new collie./ •/The boy made much of the hard things of his mountain climb./ Contrast: MAKE LIGHT OF, MAKE LITTLE OF.

[make neither head nor tail of]{v. phr.} To be unable to figure something out. •/This puzzle is so complicated that I can make neither head nor tail of it./ Compare: HEADS OR TAILS.

[make no bones]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To have no doubts; not to worry about right or wrong; not to be against. — Used with "about". •/Bill makes no bones about telling a lie to escape punishment./ •/The boss made no bones about hiring extra help for the holidays./ 2. To make no secret; not keep from talking; admit. — Used with "about" or "of the fact". •/John thinks being poor is no disgrace and he makes no bones of the fact./ •/Mary made no bones about her love of poetry even after some of her friends laughed at her./

[make of]{v. phr.} To interpret; understand. •/What do you make of his sudden decision to go to Africa?/

[make off]{v.} To go away; run away; leave. •/When the deer saw the hunter it made off at once./ •/A thief stopped John on a dark street and made off with his wallet./ Compare: TAKE OFF.

[make one feel at home]{v. phr.} To be hospitable; welcome; make someone feel at ease. •/They are very popular hosts because they always manage to make their guests feel at home./

[make one out to be]{v. phr.} To accuse someone of being something. •/Don’t make me out to be such a grouch; I am really quite happy-go-lucky./

[make one’s bed and lie in it] To be responsible for what you have done and so to have to accept the bad results. •/Billy smoked one of his father’s cigars and now he is sick. He made his bed, now let him lie in it./ Compare: FACE THE MUSIC(2).

[make one’s blood boil] or [make the blood boil] {v. phr.}, {informal} To make someone very angry. •/When someone calls me a liar it makes my blood boil./ •/It made Mary’s blood boil to see the children make fun of the crippled girl./ Compare: BOILING POINT.

[make one’s blood run cold] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD.

[make one’s ears burn] See: EARS BURN.

[make oneself at home]{v. phr.} To feel comfortable; act as if you were in your own home. •/If you get to my house before I do, help yourself to a drink and make yourself at home./ •/John was an outdoor man and could make himself at home in the woods at night./ Compare: AT EASE, AT HOME(2).

[make oneself scarce]{v. phr.}, {slang} To leave quickly; go away. •/The boys made themselves scarce when they saw the principal coming to stop their noise./ •/A wise mouse makes himself scarce when a cat is nearby./

[make one’s hair stand on end] See: HAIR STAND ON END.

[make one’s head spin]{v. phr.} To be bewildered; be confused. •/It makes my head spin to think about the amount of work I still have to do./

[make one’s mark]{v. phr.} To become known to many people; do well the work you started to do; make a reputation. •/Shakespeare made his mark as a playwright./

[make one’s mouth water]{v. phr.} 1. To look or smell very good; make you want very much to eat or drink something you see or smell. •/The pies in the store window made Dan’s mouth water./ •/The picture of the ice cream soda made his mouth water./ 2. To be attractive; make you want to have something very much. •/Judy collects folk song records, and the records in the store window made her mouth water./ Compare: LICK ONE’S CHOPS.

[make one’s pile]{v. phr.} To make one’s fortune. •/The rich man made his pile in the stock market./

[make one’s way]{v. phr.} 1. To go forward with difficulty; find a path for yourself. •/They made their way through the crowd./ 2. To do many hard things to earn a living; make a life work for yourself. •/He was anxious to finish school and make his own way in the world./ Compare: SHIFT FOR ONESELF.

[make one tick]{v. phr.} To cause to operate; to motivate. •/He is so secretive that we are unable to figure out what makes him tick./

[make or break]{v. phr.} To bring complete success or failure, victory or defeat. •/Playing the role of Hamlet will make or break the young actor./

[make out]{v.} 1. To write the facts asked for (as in an application blank or a report form); fill out. •/The teacher made out the report cards and gave them to the students to take home./ •/Mrs. Smith gave the clerk in the store some money and the clerk made out a receipt./ 2. To see, hear, or understand by trying hard. •/It was dark, and we could not make out who was coming along the road./ •/They could not make out what the child had drawn. /•/The book had many hard words and Anne could not make out what the writer meant./ •/Mr. White does many strange things. No one can make him out./ Syn.: FIGURE OUT. 3. {informal} To make someone believe; show; prove. •/Charles and Bob had a fight, and Charles tried to make out that Bob started it./ •/The boy said he did not take the money but the teacher found the money in the boy’s desk and it made him out to be a liar./ 4. {informal} Do well enough; succeed. •/John’s father wanted John to do well in school and asked the teacher how John was making out./ •/The sick woman could not make out alone in her house, so her friend came and helped her./ 5. To kiss or pet. •/What are Jack and Jill up to? — They’re making out on the back porch./

[make over]{v.} 1. To change by law something from one owner to another owner; change the name on the title (lawful paper) from one owner to another. •/Mr. Brown made over the title to the car to Mr. Jones./ 2. To make something look different; change the style of. •/He asked the tailor to make over his pants. The tailor cut off the cuffs and put a belt across the back./

[make passes at] See: MAKE A PASS AT.

[make rounds]{v. phr.} To travel the same route, making several stops along the way. •/The milkman makes his rounds every morning./ •/The doctor makes the rounds of the hospital rooms./

[make sense]{v. phr.} 1. To be something you can understand or explain; not be difficult or strange. •/The explanation in the school book made no sense because the words were hard./ Compare: MAKE HEAD OR TAIL OF. 2. To seem right to do; sound reasonable or practical. •/Does it make sense to let little children play with matches?/