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.
“We heard this howling, whimpering noise and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from,” one of the runners, Jamie Kirk, told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
"So coming here on my own, I've had to figure out the hard way how to do things differently when a male client comes in," Ffion said.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Dingell said she's still trying to figure out if Piker is popular because "he exercises and looks buff."
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
That means that Indiana’s law and others like it will force the courts to figure out which state law to apply when a clash arises.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
But Bat, holding the tiny animal in his arms, made a silent promise that he’d figure out a way to keep him.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
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.
