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make up for

B1 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

To do something good to balance out something bad that happened before — to say sorry in actions

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic neutral

To do something that corrects or balances the negative effect of a mistake, fault, or absence

"He worked overtime all weekend to make up for missing the deadline on Friday."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 idiomatic neutral

To compensate for a lack or disadvantage by providing something positive in another area

"What she lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm and creativity."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B1 idiomatic neutral

To use time or opportunities intensely to compensate for a period when they were unavailable

"After recovering from illness, she was determined to make up for lost time and throw herself back into work."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Very common and useful. Can refer to compensating for absence, bad behaviour, lost time, disadvantages, or mistakes. Often seen in the structure 'make up for lost time'. Always followed by 'for' and then the thing being compensated for.

Commonly used with

lost time absence mistake shortcoming deficit lack of experience

Forms

Base
make up for
I/you/we/they
3rd person
makes up for
he/she/it
Past simple
made up for
yesterday
Past participle
made up for
have + pp
-ing form
making up for
continuous

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Synonyms

compensate for offset atone for redress balance out make amends for

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