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
Today’s Difficulty Our testers rate each puzzle out of 5 according to its difficulty.
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New York Times Games, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
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
Puzzles of Color’s website now features a new option called Moments, where customers can make puzzles out of their own pictures.
—Candi Bolden, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2025
Certain kinds of microbiome bacteria are associated with the development of GI cancers, but researchers are still puzzling out whether those changes are a cause or a consequence of the disease.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
The five-on-five play more generally is what makes this recent stretch a little hard to puzzle out.
—Jonas Siegel, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
After Jen’s left the Road with her prize of power, Billy and Agatha are left to puzzle out their own escape hatches.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
These officers are already puzzling out how to lessen the impacts of extreme heat on the public using the fewest dollars possible.
—Zoya Teirstein, USA TODAY, 6 Aug. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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New York Times Games, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
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
Puzzles of Color’s website now features a new option called Moments, where customers can make puzzles out of their own pictures.
—Candi Bolden, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2025
Certain kinds of microbiome bacteria are associated with the development of GI cancers, but researchers are still puzzling out whether those changes are a cause or a consequence of the disease.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
The five-on-five play more generally is what makes this recent stretch a little hard to puzzle out.
—Jonas Siegel, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
After Jen’s left the Road with her prize of power, Billy and Agatha are left to puzzle out their own escape hatches.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
These officers are already puzzling out how to lessen the impacts of extreme heat on the public using the fewest dollars possible.
—Zoya Teirstein, USA TODAY, 6 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Puzzle out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puzzle%20out. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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