Word.ws English Dictionary

makes do and mends

makes do and mends is the third-person singular simple present indicative of make do and mend.

Meaning of make do and mend

Verb

make do and mend (third-person singular simple present makes do and mends, present participle making do and mending, simple past and past participle made do and mended)

  1. (UK) To follow a philosophy, during World War II, of repairing clothes etc that would normally be discarded due to shortages and rationing.
    • The 'make do and mend' campaign was the Board of Trade's central propaganda effort directed at housewives. It gave advice on preservation, renovation, and repair of clothing and other household goods.2000 Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska - Austerity in Britain: Rationing, Controls, and Consumption, 1939-1955
  2. (UK, idiomatic) Generally, to repair and reuse.
  3. (UK, idiomatic) To make the best of a situation.

Questions about makes do and mends

What is makes do and mends the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Makes do and mends is the third-person singular simple present indicative of make do and mend.

Words near makes do and mends in the dictionary

  1. makes certain
  2. makes common cause
  3. makes contact with
  4. makes conversation
  5. makes do
  6. makes do and mends
  7. makes down
  8. makes ends meet
  9. makes eyes
  10. makes faces
  11. makes fair weather

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: makes do and mends (page history and authors); make do and mend (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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