sixth sense

noun

1. a power of perception beyond the five senses; intuition.

   His sixth sense warned him to be cautious.

sixth sense

noun

1. any supposed sense or means of perception, such as intuition or clairvoyance, other than the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell

Word History and Origins

Origin of sixth sense¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

Keen intuition, as in She had a sixth sense that they would find it in the cellar. This term alludes to a sense in addition to the five physical senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

It was when she started accurately rattling off my license and Visa card numbers that the phrase “sixth sense” came to my mind.

From Los Angeles Times

“Well,” Squire said while everyone around him groaned, “I guess I have a sixth sense.”

From Los Angeles Times

Milo says he and his colleagues have long believed that numbers can “provide a sixth sense of the world.”

From Science Magazine

“Just by small little signals on their face they’re making. It just becomes like a sixth sense.”

From New York Times

Research on the gut-brain connection, also known as the “sixth sense,” has increased in recent years, and is helping to explain why we get satisfaction from particular foods and flavors.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• instinct