Makeup Is Cosmetics, Composition and a Resit
Makeup means cosmetics, or the way something is composed. American schools add a third sense: a repeated test.
Makeup means cosmetics, and also the way something is constituted. American English adds a third: a *makeup exam* is one sat to replace a missed test, which British schools call a resit. The verb behind all of them, *make up*, has an unusually large number of senses — invent, compose, reconcile, compensate and apply cosmetics.
- Cosmetics. *Wearing makeup.*
- Composition. *The makeup of the committee.*
- A replacement test (American). *A makeup exam.*
- Make up — to invent, compose or reconcile. *They made up.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | makeup | Stage makeup. |
| Variant | make-up | The hyphenated form. |
| Phrasal verb | make up | Make up a story. |
| Person | make-up artist | A make-up artist. |
| Related | cosmetics | Cosmetics counter. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The makeup of the team changed.Composition.
- They made up after the argument.Reconciled.
- He made up an excuse.Invented.
Senses of *make up*
- Invent — make up a story
- Compose — what makes up the whole
- Reconcile — they made up
- Compensate — make up the shortfall
- Apply cosmetics — make up her face
From the phrasal verb *make up*. The cosmetics sense dates from the theatre in the nineteenth century.
Makeup or make-up?
Both appear. The unhyphenated form is now more common, especially in American English.
Why does *cosmetics* relate to the cosmos?
Both come from Greek *kosmos*, meaning order and arrangement. Cosmetics arrange the face; the cosmos is the ordered universe.