figure out
Britishverb
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to calculate or reckon
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to understand
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Discover or determine, as in Let's figure out a way to help . [Early 1900s]
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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.
“I didn’t have to figure out what ‘The West Wing’s’ political position was going to be or what ‘The West Wing’ thought about the world,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Fumbling to figure out what makes him tick, Evans attempts to neg the provocateur as someone who lacks the passion to think differently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
“You have to figure out what to do with it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“We’re trying to figure out who the 3% are, because they are the bravest people on earth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
I was still trying to figure out what Papa meant when we opened the door to our blacksmith shop.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
