sense

I UK [sens] / US noun
Word forms "sense":
singular sense plural senses
***

1) [singular] a strong feeling or belief about yourself

sense of:

Winning an award would give me a great sense of achievement.

They say they are dealing with the problem, but there seems to be no sense of urgency.

a sense of optimism/confidence/well-being:

A little bit of praise and appreciation can give people a real sense of well-being.

a sense of foreboding/unease/panic:

Beth read Jake's letter with a mounting sense of panic.

a sense of identity/belonging/community:

It's a small village with a strong sense of local identity.

•

Collocations:
Verbs frequently used with sense as the object ▪  convey, create, develop, experience, feel, share

2) [countable] one of the natural abilities that most people have to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel things, known as the five senses

sense of smell/taste/touch etc:

Dogs have a sense of smell that is five times more sensitive than that of humans.

a) [singular] a natural ability or quality that some people have

You need a good sense of balance to skate well.

sense of humour (= the ability to laugh at things or say funny things):

She's got a great sense of humour.

sense of direction (= an ability to know where you are going, even when you are in a place that you do not know):

I'm sure he'll be able to find the house – he has a pretty good sense of direction.

business sense:

Our father was a good designer, but he had no business sense.

b) [uncountable] the ability to behave in an intelligent way and make good decisions

He should have had the sense to park the car in the shade.

talk sense (= speak in an intelligent way):

At least they've got someone who can talk sense on the subject.

3)

a) [uncountable] a good reason, or a useful purpose

There's no sense in going ahead until the costs have been agreed.

b) senses

[plural] a reasonable way of talking and behaving bring someone to their senses (= make someone become reasonable):

What's it going to take to bring him to his senses?

come to your senses (= become reasonable):

Portman urged the government to come to its senses and stop nuclear testing.

See:

see I

4)

a) [countable] the meaning of a word or phrase

The word "bank" has a number of senses.

We are talking about vocational training in the broadest sense.

b) [singular] a way of thinking about or understanding something, although there may be other ways

in a sense:

My family's from this area, so in a sense it's like coming home.

in one sense:

In one sense, Robertson is a typical politician.

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Collocations:
Adjectives frequently used with sense
▪  accepted, broad, fullest, literal, narrow, strict, truest, wide

- make sense

- make sense of something

See:

dress sense, see I, sixth sense

II UK [sens] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "sense":
present tense I/you/we/they sense he/she/it senses present participle sensing past tense sensed past participle sensed
**

1) to know about something through a natural ability or feeling, without being told

Cats seem to instinctively sense his fear.

sense (that):

I think she must have sensed there was something wrong.

I guess he sensed that I was a little nervous.

•

Collocations:
Nouns frequently used as objects of sense
▪  atmosphere, danger, fear, mood, presence, tension, unease

2) if a machine senses a change, it notices that it is happening

The machine senses when the engine gets too hot, and shuts itself off.