"make-do" meaning in English

See make-do in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Forms: more make-do [comparative], most make-do [superlative]
Etymology: Etymology tree English make dodeverb. English make-do Deverbal from make do. Etymology templates: {{ety|en|:deverbal|make do|text=+|tree=1}} Etymology tree English make dodeverb. English make-do [Appendix:Glossary#deverbal|Deverbal]] from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "make do", "status" : "missing", "lang" : "en" } ], "keyword" : "deverbal" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "make-do", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="make-do"> Deverbal from make do. Head templates: {{en-adj}} make-do (comparative more make-do, superlative most make-do)
  1. improvised, makeshift
    Sense id: en-make-do-en-adj-dz9TgmRd

Noun

Forms: make-dos [plural]
Etymology: Etymology tree English make dodeverb. English make-do Deverbal from make do. Etymology templates: {{ety|en|:deverbal|make do|text=+|tree=1}} Etymology tree English make dodeverb. English make-do [Appendix:Glossary#deverbal|Deverbal]] from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "make do", "status" : "missing", "lang" : "en" } ], "keyword" : "deverbal" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "make-do", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="make-do"> Deverbal from make do. Head templates: {{en-noun}} make-do (plural make-dos)
  1. A temporary or makeshift expedient. Related terms: make do, make do and mend
    Sense id: en-make-do-en-noun-JU1MbHeI Categories (other): English deverbals, English entries referencing missing etymons, English entries with etymology texts, English entries with etymology trees, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Pages with etymology trees Disambiguation of English deverbals: 12 88 Disambiguation of English entries referencing missing etymons: 13 87 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology texts: 13 87 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 13 87 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 11 89 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 21 79 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 14 86 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 11 89 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 13 87 Synonyms: band-aid [US], band-aid solution [US], bodge [UK], cludge, fiddle, hack, hack job, jugaad, kludge, kluge, lash-up [UK], make-do, makeshift, patch, patch-up, put-together, quick-and-dirty, quick fix, stopgap, workaround

Inflected forms

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":deverbal",
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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish make dodeverb.\nEnglish make-do\n[Appendix:Glossary#deverbal|Deverbal]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"make do\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"deverbal\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"make-do\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"make-do\">\nDeverbal from make do.",
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      "id": "en-make-do-en-adj-dz9TgmRd",
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        [
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}

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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1980 April 12, Audre Lorde, “On The Erotic”, in Gay Community News, page 4:",
          "text": "Even the play-acting of destructive power is only a run-through, or make-do, for the real thing, a way of familiarizing the participants to these roles when the real thing comes along.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "A temporary or makeshift expedient."
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          "word": "make do"
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          "tags": [
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          "word": "band-aid"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "tags": [
            "US"
          ],
          "word": "band-aid solution"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "tags": [
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          ],
          "word": "bodge"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "cludge"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "fiddle"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "hack"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "hack job"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "jugaad"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "kludge"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "kluge"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "lash-up"
        },
        {
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          "word": "make-do"
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        {
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          "word": "makeshift"
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          "word": "patch"
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          "word": "put-together"
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          "word": "quick-and-dirty"
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          "word": "quick fix"
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          "word": "stopgap"
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          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
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  "word": "make-do"
}
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          "word": "band-aid"
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          "word": "band-aid solution"
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        {
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          "word": "bodge"
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          "word": "cludge"
        },
        {
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          "word": "fiddle"
        },
        {
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          "word": "hack"
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        {
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          "word": "hack job"
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        {
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          "word": "jugaad"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "kludge"
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          "word": "kluge"
        },
        {
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          "word": "lash-up"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "make-do"
        },
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          "word": "makeshift"
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        {
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          "word": "patch"
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          "word": "patch-up"
        },
        {
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          "word": "put-together"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "quick-and-dirty"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "quick fix"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "stopgap"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:workaround",
          "word": "workaround"
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  ],
  "word": "make-do"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-06-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (ade7ec3 and 7f4db16). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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