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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.

“It’s so tempting to try to figure out how to use these tools, and I think it would make sense to try. But I think it should be done with a lot of skepticism.”

From Salon

But it wouldn’t take a geopolitical genius to figure out that would be the result.

From Salon

Oakland civil rights attorney James Cook has been on the ground in Minnesota for months figuring out answers to these question as he goes.

From Los Angeles Times

But I started to figure out that Al wasn’t telling me the whole truth before I knew my times tables.

From The Wall Street Journal

I must figure out a way to open Willa’s calendar diary.

From Literature

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.