A cosmetic difference? makeup vs. make-up

I wouldn’t make up this: Apparently people who’ve been applying makeup all of their lives don’t know how to spell what they’re putting on their face! Time for a makeup study session on this.

How the word is spelled really centers on what part of a speech it is in a sentence.

If a verb, it’s two words (“make up”) as in “You can make up the test after school.”

If a noun or adjective, it’s one word, no hyphen (“makeup”). To wit, “She purchased makeup at the cosmetics counter” (noun) and “Are you ready to take your makeup test?” (adjective).

Now you’re already to take that grammar test!

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