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
The disease disproportionately impacts Latinos, Filipinos, Black people, Native Americans, and pregnant people for reasons researchers and physicians are still trying to puzzle out.
—
Zoya Teirstein, WIRED, 17 Feb. 2024
Half the fun of a new True Detective season is trying to puzzle out the mystery alongside the characters, and the premiere gives the Reddit detectives enough ammo to start putting major pieces together already.
—Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Peering Inside the Brain Until recently, the only way to look at human plaques was by analyzing the brains of people who died from the disease — a challenge one scientist compared to looking at a car wreck and trying to puzzle out the accident’s cause.
—Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, 3 Dec. 2019
While researchers are still puzzling out the cause of the complication, new research suggests that a key CAR-T manufacturing step can reactivate HHV-6 in T cells.
—Angus Chen, STAT, 8 Nov. 2023
Why he got so lost in the first place — that’s what the memoir tries to puzzle out.
—Sarah Hepola, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023
Through letters his mother left behind and fragments of his own memories, Clowes has puzzled out a few details.
—Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
In the meantime, Meitner was determined to puzzle out those results.
—Ashraya Gupta, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2023
As a result, British procedurals are almost always focused on puzzling out who did what.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
Zoya Teirstein, WIRED, 17 Feb. 2024
Half the fun of a new True Detective season is trying to puzzle out the mystery alongside the characters, and the premiere gives the Reddit detectives enough ammo to start putting major pieces together already.
—Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Peering Inside the Brain Until recently, the only way to look at human plaques was by analyzing the brains of people who died from the disease — a challenge one scientist compared to looking at a car wreck and trying to puzzle out the accident’s cause.
—Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, 3 Dec. 2019
While researchers are still puzzling out the cause of the complication, new research suggests that a key CAR-T manufacturing step can reactivate HHV-6 in T cells.
—Angus Chen, STAT, 8 Nov. 2023
Why he got so lost in the first place — that’s what the memoir tries to puzzle out.
—Sarah Hepola, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023
Through letters his mother left behind and fragments of his own memories, Clowes has puzzled out a few details.
—Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
In the meantime, Meitner was determined to puzzle out those results.
—Ashraya Gupta, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2023
As a result, British procedurals are almost always focused on puzzling out who did what.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puzzle out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near puzzle out
Cite this Entry
“Puzzle out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puzzle%20out. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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