Word.ws English Dictionary

making up the numbers

making up the numbers is the present participle and gerund of make up the numbers.

Meaning of make up the numbers

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To provide sufficient people to make an event worthwhile.
    • We need eleven players, but we are only nine. Can you help us make up the numbers?

Questions about making up the numbers

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

Words near making up the numbers in the dictionary

  1. making tracks
  2. making trial of
  3. making up
  4. making up for lost time
  5. making up one's mind
  6. making up the numbers
  7. making up to
  8. making use
  9. making vintage
  10. making water
  11. making waves

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: making up the numbers (page history and authors); make up the numbers (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 up the numbers.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/making_up_the_numbers. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.