make the most of

verb

To realize the maximal value, worth, or potential of (something); to derive as much benefit or profit from (something) as is possible.

Similar
get the most out of
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbmake the most of (third-person singular simple present makes the most of, present participle making the most of, simple past and past participle made the most of)

present singular third person makes the most of · participle present making the most of · participle past made the most of · past made the most of

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo realize the maximal value, worth, or potential of (something); to derive as much benefit or profit from (something) as is possible.

    Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

    1841, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “(please specify the essay number)”, in Essays, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC
    4 more examples

    Help me make the Most of freedom and of pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world

    1985, Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, Chris Hughes, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, in Songs from the Big Chair, performed by Tears for Fears

    But with the home side likewise unable to make the most of a period of first-half ascendancy, Villa were swift to make amends on the restart.

    2011 January 25, Les Roopanarine, “Wigan 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC

    How much time you have doesn’t matter, when you really care about someone, if you make the most of it.

    2017 November, N. K. Jemisin, Mac Walters, chapter 13, in Mass Effect Andromeda: Initiation, 1st edition (Science Fiction), Titan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 242

    As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it.

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

    Synonyms: get the most out of

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo realize the maximal value, worth, or potential of (something); to derive as much benefit or profit from (something) as is possible.

Similar
get the most out of
Also see
make the best of

Translations

Catalan aprofitar
  • aprofitarrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
Finnish ottaa kaikki irti, hyödyntää
  • ottaa kaikki irtirealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • hyödyntäärealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
French profiter
  • profiterrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
Hungarian (jól/maximálisan) hasznosít, kihasznál
  • (jól/maximálisan) hasznosítrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • kihasználrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • felhasználrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • kiaknázrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • gyümölcsöztetrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • kamatoztatrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • sáfárkodikrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • a legtöbbet hozza ki belőlerealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
Spanish aprovechar, sacar provecho
  • aprovecharrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • sacar provechorealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
  • sacar partidorealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
Vietnamese tận dụng
  • tận dụngrealise the maximal value, worth, or potential of
Cite this entry
APA

make the most of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20the%20most%20of

MLA

“make the most of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20the%20most%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make the most of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20the%20most%20of.

Source: make the most of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.