make for meaning: definition, quotations

make for

verb

Idiomatic To set out to go (somewhere); to move towards.

He makes for England, there to claim the crown.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:
[H]e disappeared into his house much as a startled weasel makes for its hole.1888, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Schoolhouse”, in Auld Licht Idylls, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 6:

2 more examples

Winston made for the stairs.1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:
I crawled out of the bed and made for the bathroom.1990, Mark Timlin, Gun Street Girl, London: Headline Book Publishing PLC, →ISBN, page 95:

Idiomatic To tend to produce or result in.

It was such a day as one dreams about, with that pleasant warmth in the air that makes for indolent content.1914, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 11, in The Pirate of Panama:
A tiny cub is learning the art of stalking a little too well it seems. A video posted on social media shows the cub surprising its mamma and giving her a huge fright. The short clip makes for a delightful watch.2019 October 9, "Tiny cub gives lion a huge fright", Hindustan Times

1 more example

It's not the longest or tallest viaduct in Britain, but the landscape upon which it sits makes for a stunning backdrop.2025 October 1, Chris Howe, “Top 10: Britain's most significant rail bridges: Ribblehead Viaduct”, in RAIL, number 1045, page 57:

Idiomatic To identify; to connect.

Idiomatic, Rare To confirm, favour, strengthen (an opinion, theory, etc.).

Secondly, we will examine the Cœlestiall Phœnomena that make for the Copernican Hypothesis, as if it were to prove absolutely victorious; […]1830, E.S. Carlos (translator), Galileo Galilei (author), “The Siderial Messenger”, reprinted in Louise Fargo Brown and George Barr Carson, Men and Centuries of European Civilization, Ayer Publishing (1971), page 427
Several very curious varieties of Blues have been taken, which appear to make for Darwin’s theory.1868 December 1, T.W. Wonfor, “Rare Visitors at Brighton”, in M.C. Cooke, editor, Hardwicke's Science-Gossip, Robert Hardwicke, published 1869, page 278:

1 more example

That they are “conditions of thought” does not make for Kant’s theory of the categories one iota more than it makes for the theory of Aristotle or for the theory of Locke.1912, Simon FitzSimons, “Criticisms in Kant”, in The American Catholic Quarterly Review, volume 37, page 148:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, for.