make up — invent (a story, excuse, etc.)
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To create something that is not true, such as a story or an excuse.
Say it like a native
Textbook He fabricated a justification for his absence.
Native He made up an excuse for being late.
'Make up' is the everyday verb for inventing a story/excuse; 'fabricated a justification' is formal/legalistic.
Pattern: make up something; make something up
In use
- He made up an excuse for being late.communication
- In some situations, people might make up stories to avoid getting into trouble.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He made an excuse up the whole story.
✓ He made up the whole story. / He made the whole story up.
Separable: 'make up a story' or 'make a story up'; with a pronoun, 'make it up'.
Common collocations
make up + fiction— an excuse, a story, a name, the whole thing
Don't confuse it
'Make up' here is about inventing, not about becoming friends again.
Related
- make up (become friends again after an argument) — Another meaning of 'make up' is 'become friends again after an argument'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.