Made from, made of, made out of, made with

Made from

We often use made from when we talk about how something is manufactured:

• Plastic is made from oil.
• The earliest canoes were made from tree trunks.

Made of

We use made of when we talk about the basic material or qualities of something. It has a meaning similar to ‘composed of’:

• She wore a beautiful necklace made of silver.
• A: What’s this table made of?
• B: It’s oak, American white oak.
• A: It’s lovely.

Made out of

We usually use made out of when we talk about something that has been changed or transformed from one thing into another:

• In the 1970s, it was popular to have candle-holders made out of wine bottles.
• They were living in tents made out of old plastic sheets.

Made with

We use made with most often to talk about the ingredients of food and drink:

• This dish is made with beef, red peppers and herbs.
• Is sushi always made with raw fish or do the Japanese use cooked fish too?