make for

Verb

1. To set out to go (somewhere); to move towards.
   • He makes for England, there to claim the crown. - c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio),...
   • [H]e disappeared into his house much as a startled weasel makes for its hole. - 1888, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Schoolhouse”, in Auld Licht Idylls, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 6:
   • Winston made for the stairs. - 1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:

   Synonyms: head for

2. To tend to produce or result in.
   • It was such a day as one dreams about, with that pleasant warmth in the air that makes for indolent content. - 1914, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 11, in The Pirate of Panama:
   • A tiny cub is learning the art of stalking a little too well it seems. A video posted on social media shows the cub surprising its mamma and giving her a huge fright. The short clip makes for a delightful watch. - 2019...
   • It's not the longest or tallest viaduct in Britain, but the landscape upon which it sits makes for a stunning backdrop. - 2025 October 1, Chris Howe, “Top 10: Britain's most significant rail bridges: Ribblehead...
3. To identify; to connect.
   • I don't agree, but they make him for a criminal.
4. To confirm, favour, strengthen (an opinion, theory, etc.).
   • Secondly, we will examine the Cœlestiall Phœnomena that make for the Copernican Hypothesis, as if it were to prove absolutely victorious; […] - 1830, E.S. Carlos (translator), Galileo Galilei (author), “The Siderial...
   • Several very curious varieties of Blues have been taken, which appear to make for Darwin’s theory. - 1868 December 1, T.W. Wonfor, “Rare Visitors at Brighton”, in M.C. Cooke, editor, Hardwicke's Science-Gossip, Robert...
   • That they are “conditions of thought” does not make for Kant’s theory of the categories one iota more than it makes for the theory of Aristotle or for the theory of Locke. - 1912, Simon FitzSimons, “Criticisms in Kant”,...
5. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, for.
   • I made this picture for my Dad.