senses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of sense.

   Her senses sharpened the moment she stepped into the dark forest.

   The dictionary lists at least a dozen senses for this short verb.

   Note

   A plural that does double duty: it counts the faculties of perception (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste), and it counts the separate meanings a word can carry, the way a dictionary sorts a word into numbered senses. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb, as in she senses danger. A determiner such as her, the or several in front of it signals the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of sense.

   A good teacher senses when a student is struggling to keep up.

   The thermostat senses the room temperature and adjusts the heat.

   Note

   The -s ending here marks agreement. It appears only after he, she, it or a singular noun, and every other subject takes plain sense. The verb behind it stretches from bodily perception to instinct to understanding. A device that senses heat is detecting it literally, while a person who senses unease is aware of it without being told.

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