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Yoong Liat Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

brand vs make

What is the difference between 'brand' and 'make'? I understand that it is wrong to say "The brand of my car is Mercedes." We have to use 'make'.
  

Top answer

I think both are correct. If you mean 3 (trademark) you're wrong, but if you mean 4 (make, manufacturer) you're right: ------- brand 3 a (1) : a mark of a simple easily recognized pattern made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership (2) : a mark made with a stamp or stencil for similar purposes : TRADEMARK b (1) : a mark put on criminals with a hot iron (2) : a mark of disgrace : STIGMA <a reputation bearing the brand of criminal negligence> 4 a (1) : a class of goods identified as being the product of a single firm or manufacturer : MAKE <stores selling well-known brand s of canned foods> (2) : PRODUCER , MANUFACTURER <a dozen brand s of textile goods competing on the open market> -----------

— Marius Hancu

  • I think both are correct.
  • If you mean 3 (trademark) you're wrong, but if you mean 4 (make, manufacturer) you're right: ------- brand 3 a (1) : a mark of a simple easily recognized pattern made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership (2) : a mark made with a stamp or stencil for similar purposes : TRADEMARK b (1) : a mark put on criminals with a hot iron (2) : a mark of disgrace : STIGMA <a reputation bearing the brand of criminal negligence> 4 a (1) : a class of goods identified as being the product of a single firm or manufacturer : MAKE <stores selling well-known brand s of canned foods> (2) : PRODUCER , MANUFACTURER <a dozen brand s of textile goods competing on the open market> -----------
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5 Answers
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I think both are correct. If you mean 3 (trademark) you're wrong, but if you mean 4 (make, manufacturer) you're right:

-------
brand

3 a (1) : a mark of a simple easily recognized pattern made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership (2) : a mark made with a stamp or stencil for similar purposes
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I believe that I use and hear "make" used only with automobiles. Otherwise, "brand" and even "kind". Please note that this deals only with usage, not with definitions that Marius has brought to our attention.
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Anyway:

At Yahoo:
"the make of his car" bbc
is much more frequent (the other doesn't even show up), thus your initial assumption seems to be correct for cars.
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make is used for durables and brand for non-durables

e.g. What brand of cigarettes do you smoke? cigs can only be used once so it is a non-durable
What's the make of you car? a car is smth most of us use for years so it is a durable
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I don't know if that is entirely correct. If you were to ask one of the following, they wouldn't sound completely right:
"What is the make of your phone?"
"What is the make of your silverware/cutlery?"
"What is the make of your shoes/footwear?"
These previous examples are "durable" since you can use them over and over. (I never heard of someone using their iPho
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