make up

UK/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/US/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To make up is to invent a story — or to become friends again after a fight. Two senses with nothing in common.

The inventing sense is used about excuses and tales, so making up a reason means producing one on the spot. The reconciling sense takes with, and making up after an argument is what everybody hopes will happen. There are two more: making up a number means completing it, and making up time means recovering a delay. The noun makeup covers cosmetics and, quite separately, the composition of something.

Definitions of make up

1phrasemake upTo invent something untrue.B2
“I think he had to make up the whole story.”
2phrasebecomeTo become friendly again after a quarrel.B2
“They always make up within a day.”

Where it comes from

Middle English
maken up
English, today
make up

From Middle English maken up, equivalent to make + up.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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