make away with

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"make-away-with" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“make away with” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To steal; to escape with ill-gotten gains.

Key facts for make away with
PropertyValue
Headwordmake away with
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “make away with” sits in English frequency

make away with falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for make away with is 14 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for make away with in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From make away + with. The correct English form is make away with, spelled M-A-K-E- -A-W-A-Y- -W-I-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To steal; to escape with ill-gotten gains.
  2. 2
    To transfer or alienate; hence, to spend; to dissipate.
  3. 3
    To do away with; to destroy.
  4. 4
    To be excused from punishment after committing (an offense).
  5. 5
    To be excused from punishment after committing (an offense). College applicants can make away with a few office referrals and maybe a detention, but students who have been suspended or expelled may not be accepted.

Etymology

From make away + with.

Synonyms

make off with

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "make away with"?
"make away with" is spelled M-A-K-E- -A-W-A-Y- -W-I-T-H.
What does "make away with" mean?
As a verb, "make away with" means: To steal; to escape with ill-gotten gains.
What is the origin of the word "make away with"?
From make away + with. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “make away with”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-A-K-E- -A-W-A-Y- -W-I-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list