make for

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

make for (third-person singular simple present makes for, present participle making for, simple past and past participle made for)

1. (idiomatic) To set out to go (somewhere); to move towards.

   Synonym: head for

   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

     He makes for England, there to claim the crown.

   • Template:RQ:Barrie Auld Licht Iddyls
2. (idiomatic) To tend to produce or result in.
   • 1914, William MacLeod Raine, The Pirate of Panama, ch. 11:

     It was such a day as one dreams about, with that pleasant warmth in the air that makes for indolent content.

   • 2019 October 9, "Tiny cub gives lion a huge fright", Hindustan Times:

     A tiny cub is learning the art of stalking a little too well it seems. A video posted on social media shows the cub surprising its mamma and giving her a huge fright. The short clip makes for a delightful watch.

3. (idiomatic, rare) To confirm, favour, strengthen (an opinion, theory, etc.).
   • 1830, E.S. Carlos (translator), Galileo Galilei (author), “The Siderial^[sic] Messenger”, reprinted in Louise Fargo Brown and George Barr Carson, Men and Centuries of European Civilization, Ayer Publishing (1971), →ISBN, page 427:

     Secondly, we will examine the Cœlestiall Phœnomena that make for the Copernican Hypothesis, as if it were to prove absolutely victorious; […]

   • 1868, T.W. Wonfor, “Rare Visitors at Brighton”, in M.C. Cooke (editor), Hardwicke's Science-Gossip, 1 December 1868, Robert Hardwicke (1869), page 278:

     Several very curious varieties of Blues have been taken, which appear to make for Darwin’s theory.

   • 1912, Simon FitzSimons, “Criticisms in Kant”, in The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Volume 37, page 148:

     That they are “conditions of thought” does not make for Kant’s theory of the categories one iota more than it makes for the theory of Aristotle or for the theory of Locke.

4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make,‎ for.

   I made this picture for my Dad.

Translations

set out to go to, move towards

• Bulgarian: отправям се (otpravjam se)
• French: se diriger vers
• German: sich zusteuern auf (+ accusative), zustreben (de)
• Irish: déan ar
• Latin: peto (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: směriś se

• Welsh: cyrchu at/i/tuag at

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