makeup
/ˈmeɪkʌp/noun, verb
makeup is spelled M-A-K-E-U-P: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, makeup means “An item's composition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of makeup is makeups.
How many letters and syllables are in makeup?
| Letters | 6: M-A-K-E-U-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 25 times per million words; the 3,683rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 common is makeup?
Makeup appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce makeup?
- /ˈmeɪkʌp/
Makeup has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-makeup.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with makeup
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: make-up (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of makeup
- makeups plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- make-up
- make up
- makeuping participle, present
- makeupping participle, present
- makeuped participle, past
- makeupped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does makeup mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An item's composition.
To understand how a nuclear reactor works, we must first look at its makeup.
- 2
Cosmetics; colorants and other substances applied to the skin to alter its appearance.
She is wearing a lot of makeup.
- 3
Replacement; material used to make up for the amount that has been used up.
- 4
A test given to students allowing them to repeat failed material.
- 5
In a NIMCRUT, an amount distributed from the trust's income in subsequent years to make up for a present shortfall.
verb
- 1
Alternative form of make up (“(ambitransitive) to put makeup on (someone or something)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Makeup in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | constitution , maquillage |
| Spanish | constitución , maquillaje, afeite, potingue , examen recuperatorio, día recuperatorio |
| German | Schminke, Make-up |
| Portuguese | maquiagem, maquilagem, maquilhagem , prova substitutiva, prova de recuperação, prova de segunda chamada |
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 makeup come from?
Deverbal from make up. Noun sense 2 is a semantic loan from French maquillage, from maquiller (“to make up, fabricate”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).