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.
"First, we had to figure out how to examine the particle structure," Christoph Hennig explains.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
My aim is to help you figure out what’s worth reading, and occasionally point you toward something you might have otherwise missed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Detectives were able to ask questions of the AI to help "figure out if Zigler was being truthful", says Lawrence.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“We have to be able to go back to the drawing board and figure out how we improve,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
I felt like I was in trouble with Mom somehow, but I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
