Makeover

How to spell makeover

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce makeover

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does makeover mean?

1. nounA complete transformation of a person's appearance, or a thorough redesign of a room, product, or image.

Makeover in a sentence

• The dated kitchen badly needs a makeover before we sell the house.

• The salon offered a full makeover for the bride and her mother.

Where does makeover come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound formed from the very old verb 'make', which descends from Old English 'macian' meaning 'to bring into being, fashion or construct', and the equally old word 'over', from Old English 'ofer'. The phrasal verb 'to make over' had long meant to remake something or to transfer ownership of it, and by the early twentieth century the two words fused into a single noun. The modern sense, a complete transformation of someone's appearance or of a room or product, grew up in the worlds of fashion and beauty journalism in the United States around the 1960s. Both parts of the word are plain Germanic stock, which is why it is spelled exactly as it sounds; the only mild trap is remembering it is now written as one solid word rather than two. It is a close cousin of other 'make' compounds such as 'makeup' and 'makeshift'.

How the word is built

• make (to create, transform)
• over (afresh, anew); a compound of the phrasal verb 'make over'