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.
“There’s something to learning how to engage and cooperate and figure out how to work with all these different people in the world,” Friedman says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"We really wanted to figure out this massive puzzle," said Mummery.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
“So it’s necessary to figure out when we can’t control things and find out how to adapt.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The book was selling, and they couldn’t figure out why.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
I’ll figure out what needs to be done to make Pops’s dream come true so that when Nate’s ready, everything will be all teed up for him.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
