Word.ws English Dictionary

making something of

making something of is the present participle and gerund of make something of.

Meaning of make something of

Verb

make something of (third-person singular simple present makes something of, present participle making something of, simple past and past participle made something of)

  1. To transform (an object or person) into something worthwhile.
    • My thousand a year is not merely a matter of dirty bank-notes and jaundiced guineas. […] I was determined to make something of it better than a fine old house to live in, than satin gowns to wear; […]1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Further Communications on Business”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 52
  2. To develop an understanding or interpretation of.
    • We couldn't make anything of his last remark.
  3. To insist on or emphatically challenge (a point or topic, especially one which may be a subject of disagreement).
    • He's controversial. He's blunt. He could be a good New Yorker. That's my opinion. You wanna make something of it?1996 August 21, George Vecsey, “Does Reeves Entertain Death Wish?”, in New York Times, retrieved 05 Sep 2018

Questions about making something of

What is making something of the present participle and gerund of?
Making something of is the present participle and gerund of make something of.

Words near making something of in the dictionary

  1. making someone's skin crawl
  2. making someone's skin creep
  3. making someone's teeth itch
  4. making someone's toenails curl
  5. making someone's toes curl
  6. making something of
  7. making something of oneself
  8. making sport of
  9. making strange
  10. making streaks
  11. making strides

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: making something of (page history and authors); make something of (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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Cite this entry: “making something of.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/making_something_of. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.