Meaning & use
puzzle out
Last updated
UK/ˈpʌzl aʊt/
US/ˈpʌzl aʊt/
Meaning
verbtransitive
To find the answer to something by thinking hard about it.
Grammar: Takes an object: puzzle out something. Often used with 'how', 'what', 'why', etc.
Patterns
- puzzle out something
- puzzle something out
- puzzle out how/what/why
She puzzled out the answer after hours of study.
Can you puzzle out how this machine works?
He finally puzzled out what the message meant.
Word forms
| third person singular | puzzles out |
|---|---|
| past tense | puzzled out |
| past participle | puzzled out |
| -ing form | puzzling out |
Common combinations
- puzzle out the answer
- It took me a while to puzzle out the answer to the riddle.
- puzzle out how
- We need to puzzle out how to fix this problem.
- puzzle out what
- She puzzled out what he was trying to say.
- puzzle out the meaning
- Can you puzzle out the meaning of this poem?
Synonyms and how they differ
- figure out
- Figure out is more common and informal; puzzle out suggests a longer, more difficult process of thinking.
- work out
- Work out means to find a solution by thinking or calculating; puzzle out emphasizes the difficulty and mental effort.
- solve
- Solve is used for problems, puzzles, or crimes; puzzle out is more about understanding something confusing.
Word family
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
In separable phrasal verbs like 'puzzle out', a pronoun object goes between the verb and the particle: 'puzzle it out'. Option An is wrong because the pronoun cannot come after 'out'. Option C is missing the object. Option D adds an unnecessary 'of'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “puzzle out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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