make up for (something)

phrase

: to do or have something as a way of correcting or improving (something else)

He wanted to make up for neglecting his children by spending more time with them.

She tried to make up for lost time by working extra hard.

What the movie lacks in plot it makes up for in special effects.

Examples of make up for (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Toronto Blue Jays made a lot of changes to their roster before the season began, looking to make up for a brutal World Series defeat by bolstering the pitching staff. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2026

While Quebec's largest city was first founded as a missionary center rather than a fur-trading post, as was the case with several other Canadian cities, the proceeding centuries have seen Montreal more than make up for its nonmaterialist origins. — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026

Schools will now be out on June 10, instead of June 3, to make up for the strike that closed schools for a week in February. — Anna Bauman, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026

That's not enough to make up for the spike in prices seen this month. — Camila Domonoske, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026