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.
“Maybe it don’t seem to make sense for a fella to be doing things for a reason that he don’t know about,” Nick says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Cellebrite just introduced an AI product that helps law enforcement officers look at the information and communications that have happened across the entire suite of applications on the phone, and make sense of those communications.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
But these contracts only make sense if you need to squeeze the most income out of your savings, and for those in that situation, full “control” over their money is largely illusory.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
It all started to make sense to the housed neighbors.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
“If they were on the same voyage, it could explain how this book ended up in the Ashton Place library. If only I could make sense of it!”
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.
