The two most common meanings of the verb ausmachen are "to turn something off" and "to bring something to a conclusion with someone, to arrange something, or to agree on something." These are the first two definitions listed in the academic Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (DWDS) from the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Interestingly, both of these usages are listed as slang.

The commercial dictionary publisher Duden lists the two definitions as numbers one and three, respectively, but only lists the "turning off" definition as slang.

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

It does make you wonder: Should the most widely used version of a word still be considered slang?

TURN IT OFF!

Jetzt mach doch bitte mal den Fernseher aus!

Now please turn off the television!

Caption 12, Lerchenberg: Du bist, was du isst

 Play Caption

Ey DJ! DJ, mach die Musik aus!

Hey DJ! DJ, turn the music off!

Caption 70, Laserkraft 3D: Nein, Mann

 Play Caption

Was bedeutet es, wenn wir das Licht ausmachen?

What does it mean when we turn out the light?

Caption 56, Kinder lernen: Wie aus Wind Strom gemacht wird

 Play Caption

Aber ein Hund, ne? -Machen Sie die Kamera jetzt aus.

But a dog, right? -Turn the camera off now.

Caption 30, Kurzfilm-Festival: Nicht nur der Himmel ist blau

 Play Caption

A less informal way to ask somebody to turn a device off would be to use the verb ausschalten.

MAKE ARRANGEMENTS

Die Mitarbeiter stellen uns den Kontakt zu den jeweiligen Ansprechpartnern her, so dass wir alle nötigen Infos vorab schon einmal erfragen und die Drehtermine ausmachen können.

The staff puts us in touch with the respective contact person so that we can request all the necessary information in advance and set up the dates for the shoot.

Captions 10-12, Rund um den Airport: Hinter den Kulissen

 Play Caption

Und da haben wir auch, direkt auch, einen Songwriting-Termin ausgemacht.

And then we also arranged a songwriting session right away.

Caption 31, LOTTE & Max Giesinger: Interview

 Play Caption

Ihr könnt doch hier nicht einfach alles ausräumen. So war das nicht ausgemacht.

You can't just clear out everything. This is not what was agreed upon.

Captions 14-15, Lilly unter den Linden: Umzug in die DDR

 Play Caption

A more formal way to agree to something or arrange something would be to use the verb vereinbaren.

Yet a third meaning of ausmachen combines the verb with a dative pronoun (mir, dir, euch, Ihnen, uns). It's often translated as "would you mind," or "if it doesn't disturb you" etc.

Würde es dir was ausmachen, wenn du allein kommst?

Would you mind coming alone?

Caption 71, Meine fremde Freundin: Was alle denken

 Play Caption

Further Learning
Go to the DWDS and Duden definitions linked above and learn a couple of the less-used meanings of ausmachen. Then go to find some more examples on Yabla German to see ausmachen used in a real-world context.

Many parts of Europe, including Germany, are experiencing a heat wave of unprecedented scale this summer. The United Kingdom experienced temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in recorded history! Let's talk today about the heat wave and other aspects of hot weather — hopefully with some nice, cool air conditioning running!

Die Folgen sind schon jetzt in allen Teilen der Welt sichtbar. Es gibt verheerende Waldbrände wie im Mittelmeerraum und im Westen der USA, Überschwemmungen wie in der Region Ahr und Erft im Juli 2021 und Hitzewellen wie in Sibirien.

The consequences are already visible in all parts of the world. There are devastating forest fires, such as in the Mediterranean region and in the western United States, floods, such as in the Ahr and Erft region in July 2021, and heat waves, such as in Siberia.

Captions 20-24, Klimaschutz: Es geht um das Überleben der Menschheit

 Play Caption

 

The noun for "heat wave" (or "heatwave" in British English) is die Hitzewelle. The caption above was referring to 2021, and though there aren't any comparable major floods in Germany so far in 2022, the wildfires in the western US and southern Europe are continuing this year.

banner PLACEHOLDER

Ja, was uns bleibt, ist auf jeden Fall das heiße Wetter.

Yes, what remains for us, is certainly the hot weather.

Caption 13, Umfragen: Nach der WM

 Play Caption

Unfortunately, for many of us in many parts of the world, this remains the case.

Du hast bestimmt noch nicht sehr viel Erfahrung mit Hitze.
You certainly don't have much experience with heat yet.

One problem with such hot weather (die Hitze) in Germany is that the infrastructure has not been designed to withstand these record high temperatures. Most homes and many shops, offices, and schools have no central air conditioning. It's hard enough sitting all day at work or in school when it's sunny outside, but imagine doing so drenched in sweat!

Man musste den Ventilator anstellen...

You had to turn on the fan...

Caption 30, Kinder lernen: wie aus Wind Strom gemacht wird

 Play Caption

Living on the upper floor of an apartment building (often in Europe with no elevator) is also excruciatingly hot. From personal experience, the only means of getting to sleep at night is often to turn on a fan (der Ventilator). Noisy, but less hot!

In Griechenland ist es im Sommer sehr heiß. Ich mag zwar Wärme, aber keine Hitze. Also dann... Schweden vielleicht?

In Greece, it is very hot in the summer. I like the warmth indeed, but not the heat. So then... Sweden perhaps?

Captions 37-39, Jenny: Reiseziele

 Play Caption

Warm weather, or "the warmth" (die Wärme), is indeed preferable to the heat. Jenny is right about Sweden, where I just spent a week in mid-July. It was pleasant mid-60s to mid-70s Fahrenheit temperatures, but I could have done without the constant rainstorms. Apparently, the high pressure from the Central and Southern European heat wave is causing more rain in Northern Europe. Depending on where you live, it seems there's either too much or too little summer this year!

Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for terms like "heat" and "weather" to find more videos relating to hot weather. If you're experiencing intense sunny weather where you live, be sure and read our previous German Lesson Safe Fun in the Sun.