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on the make. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
From make (“companion, spouse, mate”), related to match (“counterpart, partner”).
Pronunciation
Prepositional phrase
on the make
- (informal) Actively seeking a romantic encounter or relationship.
1973 November 26, T. E. Kalem, “The Theatre: Savage Mating Dance”, in Time:Harry (Matthew Cowles) and Tim (Timothy Meyers) are an inseparable pair of macho punks always on the make for an easy sexual score.
- (informal, by extension) Actively seeking an opportunity for self-advancement; eager to ingratiate oneself to others in order to secure some advantage.
1920, Upton Sinclair, chapter 1, in 100%: The Story of a Patriot:In a city where everybody was "hustling," everybody, as they phrased it, "on the make," why should anyone take a second glance at Peter Gudge?
1991, Douglas Coupland, “It Can't Last”, in Generation X, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 36:She said that anyone under the age of thirty living in a resort community was on the make somehow: “pimping, dealing, hooking, detoxing, escaping, scamming, or what have you.”
Derived terms