# make believe

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/make-believe
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To pretend or imagine.

## Examples

- The children like to make believe they are pirates.
- During the long flight, the toddler used his toy plane to make believe he was flying across the ocean.
- The lonely writer would often make believe that his fictional characters were real people sitting across from him at the dinner table.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.