/ sens; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
SIGHT / HEARING, etc.
1.
[ C ] one of the five powers (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) that your body uses to get information about the world around you :
the five senses
Dogs have a keen (= strong) sense of smell.
the sense organs (= eyes, ears, nose, etc.)
I could hardly believe the evidence of my own senses (= what I could see, hear, etc.) .
The mixture of sights, smells and sounds around her made her senses reel.
—see also sixth sense
FEELING
2.
[ C ] a feeling about sth important :
He felt an overwhelming sense of loss.
a strong sense of purpose / identity / duty, etc.
Helmets can give cyclists a false sense of security .
I had the sense that he was worried about something.
UNDERSTANDING / JUDGEMENT
3.
[ sing. ] an understanding about sth; an ability to judge sth :
One of the most important things in a partner is a sense of humour (= the ability to find things funny or make people laugh) .
He has a very good sense of direction (= finds the way to a place easily) .
She has lost all sense of direction in her life.
Always try to keep a sense of proportion (= of the relative importance of different things) .
a sense of rhythm / timing
Alex doesn't have any dress sense (= does not know which clothes look attractive) .
—see also road sense
4.
[ U ] good understanding and judgement; knowledge of what is sensible or practical behaviour :
You should have the sense to take advice when it is offered.
There's no sense in (= it is not sensible) worrying about it now.
Can't you talk sense (= say sth sensible) ?
There's a lot of sense in what Mary says.
—see also common sense , good sense
NORMAL STATE OF MIND
5.
senses [ pl. ] a normal state of mind; the ability to think clearly :
If she threatens to leave, it should bring him to his senses .
He waited for Dora to come to her senses and return.
( old-fashioned )
Are you out of your senses ? You'll be killed!
( old-fashioned )
Why does she want to marry him? She must have taken leave of her senses .
MEANING
6.
[ C ] the meaning that a word or phrase has; a way of understanding sth :
The word 'love' is used in different senses by different people.
education in its broadest sense
He was a true friend, in every sense of the word (= in every possible way) .
In a sense (= in one way) it doesn't matter any more.
In some senses (= in one or more ways) the criticisms were justified.
( formal )
In no sense can the issue be said to be resolved.
There is a sense in which we are all to blame for the tragedy.
➡ note at sensible
•
IDIOMS
- knock / talk some sense into sb
- make sense
- make sense of sth
- see sense
- a sense of occasion
—more at leave noun
■ verb
(not used in the progressive tenses)
BECOME AWARE
1.
to become aware of sth even though you cannot see it, hear it, etc. :
[ vn ]
Sensing danger, they started to run.
[ v ]
Thomas, she sensed, could convince anyone of anything.
[ v ( that )]
Lisa sensed that he did not believe her.
[also vn -ing , vn inf , v wh- ]
OF MACHINE
2.
[ vn ] to discover and record sth :
equipment that senses the presence of toxic gases
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (as a noun in the sense meaning ): from Latin sensus faculty of feeling, thought, meaning, from sentire feel. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.