To make amends means to do something to make up for a wrong you've done. When you hurt someone's feelings or make a mistake that affects others, making amends is how you try to repair the damage and restore the relationship.

Making amends goes beyond simply saying “I'm sorry.” It means taking action to show you genuinely regret what happened. If you broke your sister's toy, making amends might mean using your allowance to replace it. If you spread a rumor about a classmate, making amends could involve telling others the truth and apologizing directly to the person you hurt.

Today, amends usually aren't about money: they're about showing through your actions that you understand what you did wrong and want to make things right. When someone says “I want to make amends,” they're acknowledging their mistake and offering to do something concrete to fix it.

Sometimes making amends is straightforward, like returning something you borrowed and accidentally damaged. Other times it requires more thought and effort, especially when the hurt can't be easily undone. What matters is the sincere attempt to repair what was broken, whether that's a physical object, someone's trust, or a friendship.

As a noun, amends refers to the actions or steps someone takes to fix the harm they caused. For example, “He made amends by helping rebuild the project he had damaged.”