to take the place of something lost or damaged or to compensate for something bad with something good

No amount of money can make up for the death of a child. 无论多少钱都无法补偿孩子的死亡。

This year's good harvest will make up for last year's bad one. 今年的丰收将弥补去年的歉收。

[ + -ing verb ] He bought me dinner to make up for being so late the day before. 他请我吃晚饭，作为对前一天迟到的补偿。