Definition of on the make in English:

phrase

• 1Intent on gain, typically in an unscrupulous way.

  ‘crooked politicians on the make’

  More example sentences

  • ‘He's got that furtive manner of someone always on the make, someone looking for an angle, probing for a weakness.’
  • ‘It was laughable, but then what can be expected from politicians always on the make for a quick pic or plausible headline.’
  • ‘This is the story of his adventures when he is sent away to live in London with his uncle, a fat man always on the make - the book's finest comic creation.’
  • ‘Mackintosh beckoned from across the park, then sat down next to him like a vagrant on the make.’
  • ‘There is always someone on the make in a crisis.’
  • ‘However, at its extreme, this has led to the all-too-familiar deformation of the professional as simply the expert for hire, or another mercenary on the make.’
  • ‘Never trust a biologist on the make, or a former Trotskyist who aligns himself with the neocons…’
  • ‘They are all young bands on the make - and Franz Ferdinand is already well on the way to world domination.’
  • ‘He was certainly an ambitious young man who was always on the make, looking for the next angle.’
  • ‘Journalists, particularly those on the make, will pursue ‘a story’ with little regard for its effect on the people involved and their families.’

  Synonyms

  ambitious, aspiring, determined, forceful, pushy, enterprising, pioneering, progressive, eager, motivated, enthusiastic, energetic, zealous, committed, go-ahead, go-getting, purposeful, assertive, aggressive, hungry, power-hungry

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1 Looking for a sexual partner.
     ‘he was always on the make and he had a very quick turnover’

     More example sentences

     • ‘He is soon smitten with new student Pat McClellan who is on the make for the most handsome and richest of the Tait College men.’
     • ‘And all the girls in the film are on the make for Clint.’
     • ‘Evie is always on the make - seducing boys, girls, young men, and Tracy's mother.’
     • ‘For handsome twentysomething men on the make, the ideal Manhattan woman is neither the supermodel nor the stripper.’
     • ‘She was obviously on the make for her mother's boyfriend.’
     • ‘Why are some people faithful and others on the make?’
     • ‘We meet the giggly girls, lads on the make, lager louts and smooth talking DJs, all set against the glitzy glamour of the dance floor.’
     • ‘The crowd can be a little shaky sometimes (a few too many single people on the make!) but the decor is simply mindbendingly good.’
     • ‘This former garage is always buzzing with singles, many who seem on the make.’
     • ‘In the dog-eat-dog world of New York dating, pals on the make face an unhappy dilemma: Who's more important, the fling or the friend?’