puzzle out
phrasal verb
puzzled out; puzzling out; puzzles out
: to understand or find (something, such as the answer to a difficult problem) by careful thinking
She puzzled out the meaning of the strange phrase.
Examples of puzzle out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And this explanation doesn’t even begin to answer the question of how something can be expanding indefinitely – scientists are still trying to puzzle out what powers this expansion.
—
Rob Coyne, The Conversation, 10 June 2025
Ideation is the result of cognition, and often requires collaboration — people putting their heads together to puzzle out an answer — which is part of what makes generative music feel so sinister.
—Sheldon Pearce, NPR, 17 June 2025
Today’s Difficulty Our testers rate each puzzle out of 5 according to its difficulty.
—New York Times Games, New York Times, 1 June 2025
As such, scientists are still puzzling out how early humans may have used them.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025
Yet there’s an inherent joy to impetuously (at least initially) building your own puzzle out of grid-like blocks, knowing that all decisions are final and will chart the course of the day.
—Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2025
In captivity, Hiromasa is trying to puzzle out from Suzie and Mixxy’s accounts how Sunny was able to strike Mixxy.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2024
Jump-starting the chemistry of Life Researchers are still trying to puzzle out exactly how life made the jump from chemistry to biology (and, for that matter, where to draw the line between the two) between 4 and 3.5 billion years ago.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Zurek always searches for simple, physical analogs when trying to puzzle out a problem.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2025
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Rob Coyne, The Conversation, 10 June 2025
Ideation is the result of cognition, and often requires collaboration — people putting their heads together to puzzle out an answer — which is part of what makes generative music feel so sinister.
—Sheldon Pearce, NPR, 17 June 2025
Today’s Difficulty Our testers rate each puzzle out of 5 according to its difficulty.
—New York Times Games, New York Times, 1 June 2025
As such, scientists are still puzzling out how early humans may have used them.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025
Yet there’s an inherent joy to impetuously (at least initially) building your own puzzle out of grid-like blocks, knowing that all decisions are final and will chart the course of the day.
—Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2025
In captivity, Hiromasa is trying to puzzle out from Suzie and Mixxy’s accounts how Sunny was able to strike Mixxy.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2024
Jump-starting the chemistry of Life Researchers are still trying to puzzle out exactly how life made the jump from chemistry to biology (and, for that matter, where to draw the line between the two) between 4 and 3.5 billion years ago.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Zurek always searches for simple, physical analogs when trying to puzzle out a problem.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puzzle out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puzzle%20out. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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