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.
Another issue: No one can figure out how to value it.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Esmeralda is there for some mysterious reasons that I’m trying to figure out.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Yet the biggest thing to remember, economists say, is that neither the sentiment nor confidence survey is a reliable tool to figure out how much Americans are going to spend.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
Here comes the Class of AI, the most AI-native group of graduates to enter the workforce—a cohort employers are already trying to figure out what to do with.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
“Or they were disconnected, I’m not sure. They were gone before I could figure out anything more. But I can’t stop thinking about it, I suppose.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
