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.
Further, he has a remarkable sense of both drama and pacing, easily sustaining our interest for well over eight minutes on a single number.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Seeing the 80-year-old Slatkin onstage evoked a remarkable sense of history, reminiscent of the roots to L.A.’s musical openness that his parents represented.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2025
Glaser had a remarkable sense of presence and pacing, and the show’s new production tricks kept the entire affair feeling deceptively intimate.
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2025
In biology and evolution, researchers have uncovered a remarkable sense of magnetism within birds' eyes that they use to navigate during migrations.
From Scientific American • Feb. 28, 2023
Badgers, everyone knew, had a remarkable sense of smell, which made them reliable lookouts.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
