Made of, Made from, Made out of, Made with: What’s the Difference?

Do you get confused by made of, made from, made out of, and made with? These common English expressions are similar, but they are not used in exactly the same way. In this lesson, you will learn the difference between made of and made from, as well as how to use made out of and made with correctly, with clear explanations and example sentences.

Made of

We use made of when the original material is still clearly visible or recognisable in the finished object.

In other words, the material has not changed completely.

This table is made of wood.
Her ring is made of gold.
That cottage is made of stone.
The shirt is made of cotton.

In all of these examples, we can still easily recognise the material.

Made from

We use made from when the original material has been changed so much that it is no longer recognisable.

The finished product looks different from the original substance.

Cheese is made from milk.
Paper is made from wood.
Wine is made from grapes.
Plastic is often made from oil.

Here, the original material is transformed into something new, so we use made from.

Made out of

We often use made out of in a similar way to made of or made from, especially in everyday English. However, it often emphasises that something has been created from a particular material, especially an unusual or recycled one.

It is very common when we want to highlight the process of turning one thing into another.

She made a vase out of an old bottle.
Their garden furniture is made out of recycled plastic.
He built a toy car out of bits of cardboard.
That sculpture was made out of scrap metal.

This expression is especially useful when something has been cleverly created from another object or material.

Made with

We use made with mostly when we talk about the ingredients or components used to make food, drink, or sometimes other products.

This cake is made with dark chocolate.
Bread is usually made with flour, water, and yeast.
The sauce is made with fresh tomatoes and garlic.
This soup is made with seasonal vegetables.

We focus here on what was used as an ingredient, not on the transformation of the material.

Compare the difference

Let’s compare them more clearly:

The chair is made of wood.
- We can still see the wood.
Paper is made from wood.
- The wood has been transformed.
The artist made the model out of recycled materials.
- This emphasises the creative process or the unusual material.
The cake is made with eggs, flour, and butter.
- These are the ingredients.

A very important correction

One common mistake is saying made out from.

That is not correct.

✅ made of

✅ made from

✅ made out of

✅ made with

❌ made out from

So you should say:

The bag is made out of plastic bottles.
not
The bag is made out from plastic bottles.

Quick tip

A simple way to remember it is this:

made of = the material is still visible
made from = the material has changed completely
made out of = often emphasises creation, especially from unusual or recycled materials
made with = ingredients or components used

Final thoughts

These expressions are similar, but not identical. If you understand the idea behind each one, choosing the correct phrase becomes much easier.

When you describe an object, ask yourself:

Can I still recognise the material?
Has the material changed into something completely different?
Am I talking about ingredients?
Am I emphasising that something was created from another material?

Once you start thinking in this way, using made of, made from, made out of, and made with will feel much more natural.

Do the quiz to perfect your knowledge:

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FAQ

What is the difference between made of and made from?
We use made of when the original material is still visible or recognisable, and made from when the material has changed completely.

When do we use made out of?
We use made out of to emphasise that something has been created from a material, often an unusual or recycled one.

When do we use made with?
We use made with mainly for ingredients and components, especially when talking about food and drink.

Is made out from correct?
No, made out from is incorrect. The correct expression is made out of.

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