make-do 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of make-donext
as in makeshift

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

make do

2 of 2

phrase

as in cope
to meet one's day-to-day needs She could make do just fine and didn't need anyone's help.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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-do
Adjective
Yet even this make-do meal felt extravagant. — Reem Kassis, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2025 The show has a punk rock, garage band, DIY, mix tape, basement, make-do sensibility, flowing from the band and album inspiring its title. — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Phrase
Last year’s installment was five months late, Johnson said, and the district considered borrowing to make do. — A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026 The 2019 Speedster followed in a long line of roofless performers dating back to the earliest days of the company, but that machine made do with a cumbersome fabric top that took minutes to manually attach. — Tim Stevens, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for make-do
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-do
  1. makeshift
  2. make ends meet
  3. backup
  4. substitute
  5. stopgap
Adjective
  • George describes residents taking in people who had lost their homes, workers restoring the water supply and the McAllister Hotel serving as a makeshift hospital.
    — Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • This all plays out with a lot of frequent jarring tonal mismatches, and some bafflingly overwrought dramatic beats, especially around Vision’s makeshift self-repair.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of makeshift
Phrase
  • To help make ends meet this season, the farm has turned its attention to other crops, including watermelon, sweet corn and pick-your-own pumpkins.
    — Tara Lynch, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But in February, the firefighters, many of whom worked second jobs to make ends meet, unionized.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of make ends meet
Adjective
  • For developers managing a mix of AC and DC loads, Inam says the device collapses a number of machines—including a rectifier, an inverter, backup power and energy management—into a single unit four feet square and 12 feet high.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Residents see the construction trucks, the new power lines and the backup generators.
    — Adhum Carter Wolde-Lule, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of backup
Adjective
  • Six nonverbal autistic students were missing for hours before arriving at a Brooklyn school more than four hours late after a substitute bus driver got lost, according to a city investigation.
    — Doug Williams, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • With zero acting gigs on the horizon and weary of taking handouts from Tori, Trina returns to Hollywood Arts for a substitute teaching position.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of substitute
Adjective
  • This is, after all, an institution that frequently has trouble passing stopgap spending bills and conducting routine legislative business.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Both opponents were clearly in a transition period, quarterbacked by stopgap veterans in Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins, respectively.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of stopgap

Browse Nearby Words

make common cause
make-do
make do
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Make-do.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-do. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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