make a move

make a move

1. (idiomatic) To take action.
2. (idiomatic, chiefly Britain and India) To depart from a place; to set off.
   • 2000, Carola Dunn, Rattle His Bones (2011 Macmillan ed.), →ISBN, p. 173 (Google preview):

     “We'll give you a lift, darling,” Lady Genevieve said languidly, rising. “It's time we made a move.”

   • 2006, Roberta Kray, The Debt (2011 paperback ed.), →ISBN, (Google preview):

     "Do you want to stay for another or shall we make a move?"

     He looks at his watch. "Yeah, let's go."

   • 2009, Dan Katz, Dave the Detective: Book #2 Identity Crisis, →ISBN, p. 150 (Google preview):

     “Should we make a move?” she asked over the music. “We could find a place to dance. or we could go back to our place.”

3. (idiomatic, often followed by on) To initiate a conversation or perform an action intended to engage the willing attention of a person in whom one has a romantic or sexual interest; to approach someone of romantic or sexual appeal in hopes of escalating to a romantic or sexual encounter or relationship.
   • 2007, Anita Hamilton, "50 Best Websites 2008: Howcast," Time (retrieved 13 July 2014):

     [T]he video how-to site Howcast . . . breaks from its more staid counterparts, such as Expert Village and eHow, by injecting a necessary dose of humor. Come here to learn "how to make a move on a girl while watching a movie on a couch".

• (depart from a place): Sometimes used as a polite way of describing the act of leaving the company of others.