make out

verb

Definition of make outnext
1
as in to cope
to meet one's day-to-day needs we're not rich, but we're making out all right

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to understand
to have a clear idea of I can't quite make out what she is trying to say

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to pretend
to take on a false or deceptive appearance he tried to make out that he didn't mind losing his job, but friends suspected he was desperately worried

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to derive
to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information as best as I can make out, the police were informed of the incident but didn't think it was worth investigating

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of make out On day three, the entire cake was assembled and slathered with cream and decorated with stripes made out of raspberries and piped stars on a patch of blueberries. — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 29 June 2026 People from around the world logged on to watch Ringley do her homework, brush her hair, masturbate, make out with her boyfriend. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 Further, Plato’s disdain for Gorgias, Antisthenes’ first teacher, and sophistry in general is clear; in the Platonic dialogue Gorgias, the titular character is made out to be rather foolish. — Theodore McDarrah, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 Not the family stuff, like Natalie’s spontaneous nipple piercing after making out with Cady’s maybe-daughter, Nevaeh (Malia Pyles), who later murders her own mother after kissing her, for way too long, on the mouth. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for make out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make out
  1. cope
  2. understand
  3. pretend
  4. derive
  5. do
  6. know
  7. let on
  8. decide
Verb
  • Across Connecticut, families coping with PTSD, chronic pain, depression and treatment-resistant mental health conditions are looking for therapies that offer hope when conventional approaches have fallen short.
    — John R. Gordon, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
  • Ecuador struggled to cope, with Piero Hincapie’s red card for covering his mouth while speaking to Santiago Gimenez bringing the curtains down on a disappointing tournament.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of cope
Verb
  • As some participants vow to be crucified in exchange for family members’ recovery from ill health, panata is also understood as a sacrifice made out of love for others in the community.
    — H.M.A. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 10 July 2026
  • The study was conducted to better understand the true prevalence and distribution of alpha-gal IgE, antibodies produced by the body to fight the presence of the sugar molecule alpha-gal.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026
Definition of understand
Verb
  • But the favor economy has a bias problem baked into its wiring, and pretending otherwise helps no one.
    — Jasmine Browley, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • Julius and Ethel, this guest insisted, were both guilty as charged, and to pretend otherwise was a pinko fantasy.
    — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of pretend
Verb
  • Its method is both distinguished and derived from nineteenth-century classics, from which Rohmer distills a modernism of variety, ambiguity, complexity, and fragmentation.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • Snowflake is getting there by separating the context a customer declares from the context the platform derives on its own.
    — Michael Leone, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of derive
Verb
  • The divergence is over whether the worker shortage is improving slowly or still getting worse, and what the Supreme Court should do about it.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • The band is forced into doing take after take in his quest to fully convey his own emotions.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of do
Verb
  • An area known for rough currents The 18-year-old’s body was found in the water just off the shore on the northwestern end of Horn Island, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said.
    — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Linnaea’s is known for its pastries, specialty coffees and its tranquil back patio.
    — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of know
Verb
  • On that reading, a building let on a long lease to a tenant with a strong credit rating looks closer to a toll road than to a speculative wager.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 17 June 2026
  • Franco's new followers were quick to flood into the comment section with their suspicions that there was more to the posts than the actor was letting on.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026
Definition of let on
Verb
  • Locals have spotted groups of people in Korea jerseys huddled together, trying to decide what to order at In-N-Out.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • This World Cup, a bunch of people decided to gamble millions on whether soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo would cry during a match.
    — Jon Sarlin, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Definition of decide

Browse Nearby Words

make-or-break
make out
make over
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Make out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make%20out. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on make out

Nglish: Translation of make out for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All