3 PHRASE If you say that someone has it made or has got it made , you mean that they are certain to be rich or successful. [INFORMAL ] □ When I was at school, I thought I had it made.
-made /-me I d/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -made combines with words such as 'factory' to make adjectives that indicate that something has been made or produced in a particular place or in a particular way. □ …a British-made car. □ …specially-made footwear.
ma de-to-mea sure ADJ [usu ADJ n] A made-to-measure suit, shirt, or other item of clothing is one that is made by a tailor to fit you exactly, rather than one that you buy already made in a shop.
ma de-up ◆◇◇ also made up
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ , adv ADJ n] If you are made-up , you are wearing make-up such as powder or eye shadow. □ She was beautifully made-up, beautifully groomed.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A made-up word, name, or story is invented, rather than really existing or being true. □ It looks like a made-up word.
3 ADJ If you are made-up , you are happy. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ I'll be made up if I get in the top five, that would be great.
mad|house /mæ dhaʊs/ (madhouses ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you describe a place or situation as a madhouse , you mean that it is full of confusion and noise. □ That place is a madhouse.
mad|ly /mæ dli/
1 ADV [ADV after v] You can use madly to indicate that one person loves another a great deal. □ She has fallen madly in love with him.
2 ADV [ADV adj] You can use madly in front of an adjective in order to emphasize the quality expressed by the adjective. [mainly BRIT , EMPHASIS ] □ Inside it is madly busy.
mad|man /mæ dmən/ (madmen ) N‑COUNT A madman is a man who is insane. □ He wanted to jump up and run outside, screaming like a madman.
Ma|don|na /mədɒ nə/ N‑PROPER Catholics and other Christians sometimes call Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, the Madonna .
mad|ras /mədræ s, -drɑː s/ ADJ [ADJ n] A madras curry is a rather hot spicy curry.
mad|ri|gal /mæ dr I g ə l/ (madrigals ) N‑COUNT A madrigal is a song sung by several singers without any musical instruments. Madrigals were popular in England in the sixteenth century.
mad|woman /mædwʊmən/ (madwomen ) N‑COUNT A madwoman is a woman who is insane. [INFORMAL ]
mael|strom /me I lstrɒm/ (maelstroms ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you describe a situation as a maelstrom , you mean that it is very confused or violent. [LITERARY ] □ [+ of ] …the maelstrom of ethnic hatreds and vendetta politics. □ [+ of ] Inside, she was a maelstrom of churning emotions.
maes|tro /ma I stroʊ/ (maestros ) N‑COUNT A maestro is a skilled and well-known musician or conductor. □ …the urbane maestro's delightful first show.
ma|fia /mæ fiə, [AM ] mɑː f-/ (mafias )
1 N‑COUNT [with sing or pl verb] The Mafia is a criminal organization that makes money illegally, especially by threatening people and dealing in drugs. □ The Mafia is by no means ignored by Italian television.
2 N‑COUNT You can use mafia to refer to an organized group of people who you disapprove of because they use unfair or illegal means in order to get what they want. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ They are well-connected with the south-based education-reform mafia.
mag /mæ g/ (mags ) N‑COUNT A mag is the same as a magazine. [INFORMAL ] □ …a well-known glossy mag.
maga|zine ◆◆◇ /mæ gəziː n, [AM ] -ziːn/ (magazines )
1 N‑COUNT A magazine is a publication with a paper cover which is issued regularly, usually every week or every month, and which contains articles, stories, photographs, and advertisements. □ Her face is on the cover of a dozen or more magazines.
2 N‑COUNT In an automatic gun, the magazine is the part that contains the bullets.
ma|gen|ta /mədʒe ntə/ (magentas ) COLOUR Magenta is used to describe things that are dark reddish-purple in colour.
mag|got /mæ gət/ (maggots ) N‑COUNT Maggots are creatures that look like very small worms and turn into flies.
mag|ic ◆◇◇ /mæ dʒ I k/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Magic is the power to use supernatural forces to make impossible things happen, such as making people disappear or controlling events in nature. □ They believe in magic. □ Older legends say that Merlin raised the stones by magic.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use magic when you are referring to an event that is so wonderful, strange, or unexpected that it seems as if supernatural powers have caused it. You can also say that something happens as if by magic or like magic . □ All this was supposed to work magic. □ The picture will now appear, as if by magic!
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use magic to describe something that does things, or appears to do things, by magic. □ So it's a magic potion? □ …the magic ingredient that helps to keep skin looking smooth.
4 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Magic is the art and skill of performing mysterious tricks to entertain people, for example by making things appear and disappear. □ His secret hobby: performing magic tricks.
5 N‑UNCOUNT If you refer to the magic of something, you mean that it has a special mysterious quality which makes it seem wonderful and exciting to you and which makes you feel happy. □ [+ of ] It infected them with some of the magic of a lost age. ● ADJ Magic is also an adjective. □ Then came those magic moments in the rose-garden.
6 N‑UNCOUNT [usu with poss] If you refer to a person's magic , you mean a special talent or ability that they have, which you admire or consider very impressive. □ The fighter believes he can still regain some of his old magic.