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PlainSpell

make up

/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/verb, noun

make up is spelled M-A-K-E-U-P: 6 letters. As a verb, make up means “To constitute, to compose” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in make up?

Letters6: M-A-K-E-U-P
In writinga phrase: the frequency list counts single words
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How do you pronounce make up?

  • /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-make_up.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-make-up.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with make up

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

make up vs makeup0 B

Also written: makeup (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of make up

  • makes up present, singular, he/she/it
  • making up participle, present
  • made up participle, past
  • make ups plural
  • make-ups plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • make-upping participle, present
  • make-uping participle, present
  • make-upped participle, past
  • make-uped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does make up mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To constitute, to compose.

  2. 2

    To constitute the components of a whole.

  3. 3

    To compensate for (a deficiency, defect, etc.); to supply (something missing).

    He can make up the time next week.

  4. 4

    To compensate (for).

    What I lack in patience, I make up for in drive.

  5. 5

    To invent, to imagine, to concoct

  6. 6

    To invent or fabricate (a story, claim, etc.).

    He was a great storyteller and could make up a story on the spot.

  7. 7

    To compile or draw up (a list, document, etc.).

  8. 8

    To put together (a substance, material, garment, medicine, etc.) into a specific form; to assemble.

    I can make up a batch of stew in a few minutes, but it will take a few hours to cook.

noun

as make-up
  1. 1

    Alternative spelling of makeup. See usage notes there.

adjective

as make-up
  1. 1

    Made-up, false, imaginary, fabricated.

  2. 2

    informalOf or relating to a reconciliation.

    Joe and Joanne had a big fight, and then apologized and had incredible make-up sex.

verb

as make-up
  1. 1

    rareRare form of make up (“to put makeup on”). (a form of make up)

noun

  1. 1

    Alternative form of makeup.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Make up in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchconstituer, composer (to constitute, to compose), compenser, rattraper (to compensate, to fill in, to catch up), inventer, controuver (to invent, to imagine, to concoct)
Germanwiedergutmachen, kompensieren, gutmachen, ausgleichen, aufholen (to compensate, to fill in, to catch up), erfinden (to invent, to imagine, to concoct)
Portuguesecompensar (to compensate, to fill in, to catch up), inventar (to invent, to imagine, to concoct), maquiar, maquilhar (to apply cosmetics), resolver, fazer as pazes (to make peace, to settle a dispute)
Spanishreponer, suplir (to compensate, to fill in, to catch up), sacarse de la manga (to invent, to imagine, to concoct), maquillar, maquillarse (to apply cosmetics), reconciliarse (to make peace, to settle a dispute)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does make up come from?

From Middle English maken up, equivalent to make + up (adverb).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after make up