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Synonyms

figure out

British  

verb

  1. to calculate or reckon

  2. to understand

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
figure out Idioms  

  1. Discover or determine, as in Let's figure out a way to help . [Early 1900s]

  2. Solve or decipher, as in Can you figure out this puzzle? [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Figure out what is consensus thinking, and realize it is always wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

Figure out what he’s for, what you’re for,” Coley suggested.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2025

It was handed to a group visiting the exhibit, along with a challenge: Figure out why he heeded the activists’ call when many others did not.

From New York Times • May 9, 2024

Figure out what your actual limits are, even if it’s zero.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2024

“But these are the rules, guys. Don’t like them? Figure out a constructive way to express yourselves.”

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.