work sth out
— phrasal verb with work uk/wɜːk/us/wɝːk/verb
(CALCULATE)
B2 to do a calculation to get an answer to a mathematical question:
We need to work out the total cost of the project.
More examples
- Can you work out how much each card cost?
- I need to work out how much tax I will have to pay.
- When we worked out how much it cost us to run a car, we decided to sell it.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Solving and solutions
- answer
- antidote
- band-aid solution
- be at the bottom of sth idiom
- clear (sth) up
- clue
- conquer
- conquerable
- fall
- iron sth out
- kill or cure idiom
- lateral thinking
- magic wand
- modus vivendi
- palliative
- result
- round
- solution
- talk sth out
- workaround
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(UNDERSTAND)
C2 US usually figure sth out to understand something or to find the answer to something by thinking about it:
[ + question word ] There will be a full investigation to work out what caused the accident.
[ + that ] Investigators needed several months to work out that a fraud had been committed.
More examples
- I couldn't work out what was going on.
- We're trying to work out how to finish the project.
- I couldn't work out what his expression meant.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Solving and solutions
- answer
- antidote
- band-aid solution
- be at the bottom of sth idiom
- clear (sth) up
- clue
- conquer
- conquerable
- fall
- iron sth out
- kill or cure idiom
- lateral thinking
- magic wand
- modus vivendi
- palliative
- result
- round
- solution
- talk sth out
- workaround
See more results »