Word.ws English Dictionary

making the grade

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

Meaning of make the grade

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To prove satisfactory; to be successful or worthy of merit.
    • Near-synonym: fit the bill

Questions about making the grade

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

Words near making the grade in the dictionary

  1. making the difference
  2. making the dust fly
  3. making the feathers fly
  4. making the first move
  5. making the fur fly
  6. making the grade
  7. making the headlines
  8. making the news
  9. making the passes
  10. making the perfect the enemy of the good
  11. making the rounds

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: making the grade (page history and authors); make the grade (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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