make sense

idiom

1

: to have a clear meaning : to be easy to understand

We read the recommendations and thought they made (perfect) sense.

The instructions don't make any sense (at all).

The instructions make no sense (at all).

You're not making much sense (to me).

2

: to be reasonable

It makes sense to leave early to avoid traffic.

It makes little/no sense to continue.

Why would he do such an awful thing? It makes no sense (to me).

Examples of make sense in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Body camera footage captures the responding officers trying to make sense of the situation, going back and forth between Held and Saracco asking if anyone involved is a federal agent. —Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026

Her signature makeup doesn’t make sense on top of a pretty dress. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026

Betting on him to win and betting on him to win by decision at +150 make sense. —Brett Appley, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026

This would seem to make sense since AI is rapidly changing; meanwhile, static laws often become rapidly out-of-date. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for make sense

• antisense
• commonsense
• effulgence
• frankincense
• ninepence
• nondefense
• penitence
• recommence
• recompence
• recompense
• cense
• dense