From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmake something of somebody/something phrasal verb1 THINK/HAVE THE OPINION THATto have a particular opinion about or understanding of something or someone I didn’t know what to make of her. What do you make of the idea?2 USE somethingto use the opportunities that you have in order to become successful I want to make something of my life.make something of yourself She has the ambition and talent to make something of herself.3 make the most of something to get as much advantage as you can from a situation while you are able to We’ve only got one day in Paris, so we’d better make the most of it.4 make too much of somethingIMPORTANT to treat something as if it is more important than it really is It would be a mistake to make too much of these findings. → make much of somebody/something at much2(17)5 make a day/night/evening of it informalSPEND TIME to spend a whole day, night etc doing something, because you have chosen to We decided to take a picnic and make a day of it. → make a go of something at go2(3), → make the best of something at best3(9), → see what somebody is made of at made(4) → make→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
make of • Faculty minutes likewise make no mention of any admissions decision concerning him.• In addition to this, many of the residential workshops at Highlander have been recorded on video, and make hours of fascinating viewing.• Try not to make an issue of it, Dubner said.• Reminding her at length, in case she hadn't made a note of it, of the Christmas holiday schedule for the library.• And make use of long wave.• By being slow to drop the rates, the banks make a mockery of the Government's policy.• Later paradigms saw the entire universe as being made up of the same kinds of material substances.• Chance was made managing director of the works in June 1868 and was made a partner of Chance Brothers in 1879.make something of yourself• Even if they could think, there is no obvious reason why any thinking entity should be motivated to make copies of itself.• I've got some one from the village coming in every day to check that no one tries making a nuisance of themselves.• She had simply been given no encouragement to make the best of herself.• She was totally uninterested in the proposition that a man ought to make something of himself.• Some, as you know, seek revenge - they riot, they take drugs and generally make damned nuisances of themselves.• Losing makes you think of yourself as a loser.• A motorcycle offers unlimited opportunities to make a fool of yourself, never mind dying.• Men who wanted to make something of themselves went to church, and they went well dressed.make the most of something• Ward objectives will give her guidance in making the most of each allocation.• So what they do is make the most of each player, maximizing their talent.• Guel made the most of her time on court.• The challenge in this book is to make the most of human relationships without becoming a victim. 2.• He made the most of it, continuing to dance.• She made the most of it.• Enjoy, and make the most of, the benefits that this publicity can bring to you.• Meanwhile, Vistec is making the most of the recession and has a Pounds 4m cash pile.• Chuck Levy, meanwhile, was in for 40 offensive plays and made the most of them.make too much of something• It is possible to make too much of all this.• Jasper thought I made too much of her.• She makes too much of that cat, Daisy thought, for a young woman that is.• She tried not to make too much of the moment.• He was making too much of the whole thing.• One shouldn't make too much of them, but then again, they need watching.• Of course, I make too much of this.• How a pop star looks is made too much of, though, the way some people are about it.make a day/night/evening of it• I had known Sophie for about three months by then, and she insisted on making an evening of it.• Imagine how lovely it would be - you could take the whole family and make a day of it.• Why don't you make a day of it and have lunch with us?• They make a day of it, tailgating before the game and, weather permitting, after it, too. 