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.
Heart failure occurs when the heart does not pump blood as well as it should, resulting in decreased blood flow to organs and fluid buildup in the lungs and other tissues.
From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024
Acute hypoxic respiratory failure occurs when the respiratory system cannot provide enough oxygen to the body.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2023
Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump blood around the body as well as it should.
From BBC • Sep. 19, 2019
In this case the experiment continues until either a success or a failure occurs rather than for a set number of trials.
From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017
Its refusal starts or intensifies the feeling of insecurity, and with the inability of some important concern to meet its obligations, a failure occurs and the crisis is precipitated.
From Readings in Money and Banking Selected and Adapted by Phillips, Chester Arthur
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.
