idiom (verb phrase) · neutral
make do with
/meɪk duː wɪð/MAKE DO with
speakingtask2
accept using something less good because nothing better is available
Examples
“We had no heating for a week and had to make do with extra blankets.”
“During the blackout we made do with candles and bottled water.”
“With one car between four people, they learnt to make do with public transport.”
Band 8 sentence
“Faced with severe budget cuts, the department had to make do with outdated equipment for another semester.”
Collocations
- make do with limited resources
- have to make do with
Word family
make do (with) — make(s) do, made do, making do verb phrase
Common mistakes
make do of→make do with
do make with→make do with
Say it for a higher band
5use→6manage with→7+make do with
Synonyms
manage with
get by
Easily confused
do without
“During the storm we had to do without running water for two days.”
Related words
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