put two and two together

idiom

: to make a correct guess based on what one has seen or heard : to figure something out

You weren't home so I put two and two together and went back to your office to find you.

Examples of put two and two together in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Van der Ham put two and two together and fingered the passenger as the culprit. —

Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Nov. 2023 Nobody recognized him and put two and two together. —

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2023 Mike Hancock was in Costa Rica on a fishing trip when someone recognized his last name and put two and two together. —

Bob Carlton | Bcarlton@al.com, al, 11 Nov. 2020 Last season, Booker didn’t join the conversation until late in the year when people put two and two together. —

Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 4 Dec. 2022 Chad said Miranda finally put two and two together and reached out to Eric’s family in Ohio. —

Veronica Fulton, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2022 Computer monitors displaying a mission history that Charlie recognizes from news coverage of the Guard allow his friends to put two and two together and figure out that Jack is the mystery superhero. —

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Aug. 2022 Most people didn’t need scientists to help put two and two together. —

Glamour, 14 Apr. 2022 People really don’t put two and two together when policies are created that prevent trans people from being employed. —

Essence, 30 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'put two and two together.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“Put two and two together.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20two%20and%20two%20together. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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