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Glite Dictionary
to make way

to make way

57 2.3
Move aside to let a person or vehicle pass
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : apartarse
  • The crowd seems to make way for Roland as he walks toward the center.
  • make way for new
  • cleared to make way
  • order to make way

But destruction also makes way for new things.

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Examples

  • One of the major objections to shrimp culturing is that mangroves are cleared to make way for pond facilities.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The generals and politicians were supposed to stand aside and make way for them.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Come on baby, make way for a brand new star.

    Theo Von

  • We are painting away the past to make way for the future.

  • The two drew apart from the rest of the people, who made way for them in respect.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • What is clear, however, is that old forms of power are slowly making way for the new.

    Academic text (1992)

  • My mom came forward, and the men politely made way for her.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Entire forests had been cut down and burned to make way for the golden-haired crop.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • This quaint shop, which once housed rare Oriental objects... ...now makes way for the future, Daniel Clamp style.

    Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

  • The car across the street had to make way for the snowplow.

Synonyms

to move over
vsto make way
61 1.6

Shift a little to make room for someone else

can also mean clearing space for new events not just shifting position
to give way
vsto make way
42 3.3

Move aside or be replaced by something else

focuses on making room physically or for new events rather than replacement
to make space
vsto make way
3 2.5

Move things so there is room for something

emphasizes both moving aside and making room for new opportunities
to carve a path
vsto make way
1 4.2

To make a way through something, physically or by creating new opportunities

is more general covering simple space creation as well as path making
to step out of someone's way
vsto make way
3.4

Move aside so someone can pass

also includes creating room for new things and not only for a person

Antonyms

to block
∞ 3.0

To stop movement, access, or progress

to crowd
175 1.6

To move many people or animals into a small space

How Much Space

to make way
57 2.3
to step aside
129 3.4
to move over
61 1.6

Surface Forms

make way infinitive
made way past
made way past participle
making way present participle
makes way third person singular

Morphology

make + way

The meaning 'to move aside or create space' is directly derivable from combining 'make' (cause) with 'way' (a path or space) — essentially 'cause a way' = create room for passage. This causative + noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Make way comes from the image of people in a crowd stepping aside to clear a path; to make a way is to open a route for someone to pass. So make way today means 'to move aside' or 'create space' for someone or something.