make one's way

present singular third person makes one's way · participle present making one's way · participle past made one's way · past made one's way

1. idiomaticTo move forward, usually toward a destination or goal, physically or conceptually.

   ... to tread upon enemies, and make our way over them, notes the compleatest victory and highest triumph ...

   1658, Joseph Caryl, An Exposition with Practical Observations continued upon the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, and twenty-one Chapters of the Book of Job..., page 226

   5 more examples

   Coastal routes always provide difficult engineering problems, where a coast is rocky and cliff-bound, owing to the necessity for crossing all valleys and ravines making their way to the sea.

   1946 March and April, “The Why and The Wherefore: L.M.S.R. Wick Main Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 130

   I'm telling you, I will not rest till I lay down my head, hey / In the house of stone and light / I'll make my way, O gonna be such a beautiful day / In the house of stone and light / In the house of stone and light

   1994 July 26, Martin Page, “In the House of Stone and Light”, in In the House of Stone and Light

   It is imperative that we make our way to space and do so as quickly and as safely as possible. As tempting as it is to accelerate the process of developing ...

   2003, United States Senate, NASA: human space flight : hearing before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, April 2, 2003, Volumes 73-77, published 2006, page 1

   Thousands gathered at São Paulo’s main cathedral and made their way to the mayor’s office, where a small group smashed windows and tried to break in, forcing guards to withdraw.

   2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Jun 2013

   On arrival at Birmingham New Street, I make my way upstairs to the mezzanine to get shots of an almost deserted concourse, polka-dotted with social distancing circles like some strange board-game.

   2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68

   Synonyms: insinuate, worm one's way