make sense
Idioms-
Be understandable. This usage, first recorded in 1686, is often used in a negative context, as in This explanation doesn't make sense .
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Be reasonable, wise, or practical, as in It makes sense to find out first how many will attend the conference . This term employs sense in the meaning of “what is reasonable,” a usage dating from 1600. In Britain it is also put as stand to sense .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“If we refinance now, we would have to stay in the home for at least five to eight years for the break-even point to even make sense a little bit,” Markowicz said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
It may be hard to make sense of Hawley’s high expectations.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Purely in terms of the competition format, it does make sense.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
There are 100 feasible readings of Żuławski’s film, and just when those all seem to make sense, you could conjure up a 101st.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Penelope enjoyed poetry as a rule, but this volume was too peculiar to easily make sense of.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
