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3. puzzle out

puzzle out

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puzzle something out

to figure something out. It took me a while to puzzle it out. I can't puzzle out the meaning of this argument.

See also: out, puzzle

puzzle out something

also puzzle something out

to study something in order to understand it The reader shouldn't have to puzzle out what the writer means.. Related vocabulary: figure out something

See also: out, puzzle

puzzle out

Clarify or solve something, as in It took him a while to puzzle out the significance of the statement. [Late 1700s]

See also: out, puzzle

puzzle out

v.

To come to a conclusion or find an answer, especially as the result of a careful thought process: I puzzled out the identity of the murderer before finishing the novel. The answer escaped me at first, but I finally puzzled the problem out.

See also: out, puzzle