From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmake up for something phrasal verb1 EQUALto make a bad situation better, or replace something that has been lost SYN compensate The team will be anxious to make up for a disappointing start to the season. I don’t eat breakfast but I make up for it at lunch. The good days more than make up for the bad ones.2 EQUALto have so much of one quality that it is not important that you do not have much of another one in/with What Jay lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm. Caroline doesn’t have a natural talent for music but she makes up for it with hard work.3 to do something to show that you are sorry for doing something that upset or annoyed someone I’m sorry I was late. To make up for it, let me treat you to a meal.4 make up for lost time a) WORK HARDto work more quickly, or at times when you do not usually work, because something has prevented you from doing the work before We rehearsed all day Saturday, to make up for lost time. b) ENTHUSIASTICto do a lot of something in an eager way because you have not had a chance to do it before Palin didn’t travel much as a young man but he’s certainly made up for lost time now. → make→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
make up for • But her unflagging ambition more than made up for her shortcomings.• Still, seven minutes later Magilton made up for his miss.• Its looks are ordinary, but what it lacks aesthetically it makes up for in crisp handling and user-friendliness.• Publishers of best-sellers have something to gain from discounting if volumes rise enough to make up for it.• But the New York baseball writers made up for that.• I had to make up for the ravages of time.• To make up for the unkindness, he made a bad and nervous joke.• They had the opportunity to make up for this loss by sharing in 40 years of prosperity under a democratic system.more than make up for• She also quickly realized that economic prosperity would more than make up for her political defeat.• But her unflagging ambition more than made up for her shortcomings.• What it lacked in standard, it more than made up for in atmosphere and in a deep appreciation of athletics.• What Sugar Bowl lacked in high-tech development, it more than made up for in the bounty of what really counts.• But it more than makes up for that in charm and grace.• As lovers they were not exactly vibrant, but their voices and Lehar's music more than made up for that.• The tutorial supplied is excellent and more than makes up for the formal style of the manuals.• The quality of the sound however more than makes up for this.make in/with• But it more than makes up for that in charm and grace.• It is already becoming clear that services will not make up for the decline in hard goods production.• Only part of this is an effort to make up for being in her way.• If you have a personal pension, this year is the last opportunity to make up for missed contributions in previous years.• Textiles were excluded and there was no significant increases in the sugar quota to make up for cuts in recent years.• Mario got the preferred equipment and Ronnie made up for it in sheer aggression.• Huddersfield made up for their failure in the Cup by winning the League Championship in the next season, 1923-4.• In some years, he has made up for losing marks in the regular season by increasing his bets in the playoffs.make up for lost time• He's girl crazy! He went to a boys' school and now he's making up for lost time.• The bus driver was speeding to make up for lost time.• After a century or so of political apathy, Hong Kong's young people were making up for lost time.• Meanwhile Keith and Mae are settling down to married life, making up for lost time.• None the less, we immediately started our other meetings to make up for lost time.• Once I settled into my new life, I did everything I could to make up for lost time.• Time to make up for lost time.• He was eager to make up for lost time and published prolifically. 