1
as in comprising
to be all the substance of
the book is made up of 20 chapters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in devising
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
she keeps making up excuses as to why she hasn't yet finished the project
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in building
to form by putting together parts or materials
we'll have to make up the bookcase, which came in a box marked "some assembly required"
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 making up
In the same time frame, the number of homes that are valued at $500,000 went from 5% to 25% of the city’s housing stock — making up a quarter of what’s available in Olathe.
—
Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Arteta ended this block of matches before the international break by being adventurous against both Newcastle and West Ham, despite slightly different personnel making up that midfield unit.
—Art De Roché, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Center, and the bourbon bars and distilleries making up Whiskey Row.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025
The Lumbee Tribe has 60,000 members in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties, making up the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the country, the resolution says.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 4 Oct. 2025
This stems from the concept of reparations in the popular consciousness being flattened to mean checks for Black people making up for the harms of slavery.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Creators making up to $400,000 a year could claim some portion of the deduction.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
As of Wednesday, only 70,000 Palestinians had evacuated Gaza City out of approximately one million people, a senior Israeli official said, making up less than 10% of the total population.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Commercial deals, such as the NFL’s billion-dollar TV contracts, however, are shared—making up a large portion of the NFL’s roughly $280 million annual per-team salary cap.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Arteta ended this block of matches before the international break by being adventurous against both Newcastle and West Ham, despite slightly different personnel making up that midfield unit.
—Art De Roché, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Center, and the bourbon bars and distilleries making up Whiskey Row.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025
The Lumbee Tribe has 60,000 members in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties, making up the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the country, the resolution says.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 4 Oct. 2025
This stems from the concept of reparations in the popular consciousness being flattened to mean checks for Black people making up for the harms of slavery.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Creators making up to $400,000 a year could claim some portion of the deduction.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
As of Wednesday, only 70,000 Palestinians had evacuated Gaza City out of approximately one million people, a senior Israeli official said, making up less than 10% of the total population.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Commercial deals, such as the NFL’s billion-dollar TV contracts, however, are shared—making up a large portion of the NFL’s roughly $280 million annual per-team salary cap.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for making up
Verb
-
House and Senate appropriators released a nearly $180 billion package comprising three funding bills on Monday, slimming Congress‘s chances of entering another government shutdown.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association is one of the groups comprising the Neighborhoods of East Fort Worth Alliance.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Companies are actively devising strategies to counteract muscle loss in people taking the drugs.—
Isabella Cueto,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
-
Sondheim got to work at eight o’clock one night, devising a version of the murder game in which all the players would have to use their wits to untangle the mystery.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Phelps was also lauded for expanding NASCAR's international footprint, securing long-term media rights and charter agreements, and building a leadership team that is focused on building the future of stock car racing with fan experience at its core.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The Russian military in recent years has been restoring old Soviet infrastructure in the Arctic and building new facilities.—
Danica Kirka,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As a newcomer to composing and arranging for strings, Simon benefitted greatly by working with a group readily available for consultation and collaboration.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Azar says the whole process only takes her 10 minutes, from searching for the email, composing it, to hitting send.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
26 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
So is facing a deluge of division title-winners who spent the offseason concocting new ways to beat them.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Notably, the computers seem to have a knack for concocting bizarre physics experiments — designs that humans wouldn’t think of, which nevertheless work.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Monument Health plans to use the bond proceeds for acquiring, constructing, renovating, expanding and equipping various health care facilities in the Black Hills region, according to a public notice of the bonding package.—
Joshua Haiar,
States Newsroom,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Chipotle Mexican Grill is constructing its athletic roster for 2026.—
Fielding Buck,
Oc Register,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Whereas Herbert is 0-2 in Chargers postseason games, Maye is making his first postseason appearance for the New England Patriots after assembling a most valuable player-caliber season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2026
-
To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies?—
Allison Pecorin,
ABC News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This geometric architecture may even explain how complex organisms evolved so rapidly — not by inventing new genes, but by rearranging the ways existing ones are used.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Oct. 2025
-
But truths go ignored, the film argues, when everyone prefers inventing realities for themselves.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Making up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/making%20up. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share