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.
As a system of symbols with its own particular language, astrology can help some people make sense of emotions and events, bringing a semblance of structure to the apparent chaos of everyday life.
From Slate • May 5, 2026
After it laid out the risks, it asked if I wanted to identify ETFs that might make sense for my portfolio.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
In some regions, scientists have found fragments of old tectonic plates and bursts of volcanic activity that did not fully make sense before.
From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026
Planning for a gradual increase in tax revenues would also make sense for the future.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
I was still staring at the floor, trying to make sense of what was going on in the kitchen, when I heard my mother blow her nose.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
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.
