man on the make
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Restall’s Columbus was a man on the make, a social climber who used his marriage in 1479 to Felipa Moniz, the daughter of a minor aristocrat, to further his standing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
To all those around him, Kweku Adoboli appeared to be a man on the make whose career prospects and future earnings were taking off.
From The Guardian • Nov. 20, 2012
"Oxford was ... no place for the stupid young man on the make, who was ignored, nor for the man chary of brain in the larger interest�he was despised."
From Time Magazine Archive
Stacks makes clear that Reston used every ploy of the classic man on the make.
From Time Magazine Archive
He was out to back the "man on the make," the small tradesman and manufacturer; the small farmer; the worker, ambitious to rise into the ranks of business or professional life.
From The American Empire by Nearing, Scott
