suss
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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(often foll by out) to attempt to work out (a situation, person's character, etc), esp using one's intuition
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Also: sus. to become aware of; suspect (esp in the phrase suss it )
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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susssimple
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sussessimple
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have sussedperfect
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has sussedperfect
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am sussingprogressive
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are sussingprogressive
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is sussingprogressive
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have been sussingperfect progressive
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has been sussingperfect progressive
Past
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sussedsimple
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had sussedperfect
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was sussingprogressive
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were sussingprogressive
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had been sussingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of suss
First recorded in 1965–70; earlier, to suspect, a suspect, shortening of suspect
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.
See Examples For:
To suss this out, you need to get specific about what you are trying to do today.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
She suggested getting an independent solar feasibility survey to help "suss out how much money you might be able to make from solar panels on your roof".
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
It’s impossible to suss out what portion of the electorate voted for him based on that promise over, say, the notably dire state of the economy in 1992.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026
The reason isn’t hard to suss out: $100 a barrel oil is hard on the consumer and makes filling up an RV gas tank, which can hold 100 gallons of fuel, a daunting prospect.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
The title would be easy to suss out for any Yiddish speaker with a half-decent grasp of the Latin alphabet.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He susses out life forces rather than spiraling despair; he is tender without being sentimental, cleareyed without being cool.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
Smaller hikes from now on would also grant the Fed more flexibility, economists say, as the central bank susses out how much higher rates need to go.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 22, 2023
Epidemiologists and oncologists can be forgiven for hating that movie, in which Julia Roberts plays a concerned citizen who susses out a public health emergency.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2013
Schiff susses out the meaning of the Fed’s decision not to print more money and shovel it into the economy.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2012
For the next hour we trot around with Matt as he informs relatives of Liz’s condition and susses out clues to the identity of her secret beau.
From Time ● Nov. 15, 2011
In letters from George Orwell, they impressively sussed out tuberculosis in the typically protein-barren landscape of a typewritten letter.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2023
In these production protests, the writers often rely on Twitter to quickly call out for reinforcements of their picket lines and to corral picketers to new filming locations they have sussed out.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2023
Presumably, the ruling’s exact contours will be sussed out in future decisions.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2023
And the kids even sussed that out, you know, the actors playing the kids.
From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
He’d sussed out the others as soon as they entered the cell, and he knew it would be the burly Kaelish with the birthmark who came for him.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
But semiconductor “foundries trade based on book value,” says Melius analyst Ben Reitzes, who was early in sussing out Intel’s comeback.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
With no nationwide elections to look at, sussing out the answer requires an election expert who can look granularly at the races.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2025
The Abbott World Marathon Majors, the international marathon series of which New York is part, is keen on sussing out dopers, Ms. Hall says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Still, even this glossy set of petty tyrants can recognize a creep and a phony in their ranks, sussing which one of their ilk is showing off their veneers for a half-second too long.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2025
“You should describe them to Horace. He’s good at sussing hidden meanings from dreams.”
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
