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
Still, pursuing credit card debt forgiveness could make sense this year for many borrowers.
—
Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
My biggest disappointment was where the tension went slack because the situation didn’t make sense.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Jan. 2026
Spreading city dollars, which are already limited, across more providers, and perhaps to some providers with less capacity to serve the city’s most vulnerable citizens, doesn’t make sense in this environment, Ravin said.
—Suzanne King, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026
Trump’s immigration policies don’t make sense as a pro-worker agenda, but do make sense as a way of silencing dissent and keeping out nonwhite immigrants.
—Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for make sense
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Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
My biggest disappointment was where the tension went slack because the situation didn’t make sense.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Jan. 2026
Spreading city dollars, which are already limited, across more providers, and perhaps to some providers with less capacity to serve the city’s most vulnerable citizens, doesn’t make sense in this environment, Ravin said.
—Suzanne King, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026
Trump’s immigration policies don’t make sense as a pro-worker agenda, but do make sense as a way of silencing dissent and keeping out nonwhite immigrants.
—Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for make sense
Cite this Entry
“Make sense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20sense. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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