suss out

idiom

British, informal

1

: to find or discover (something) by thinking

They had to suss out whether he was telling the truth.

I'm trying to suss him out. What kind of person is he?

I think I've got him sussed out.

2

: to inspect or investigate (something) in order to gain more knowledge

He carefully sussed out the situation.

Examples of suss out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The barrage of sounds and effects is so overstimulating that trying to suss out whatever occasional folk signifiers peek through (a gamelan here, a pan-flute there) can leave you with egg on your face. —H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026

The overall effect of the property tax cuts hasn’t yet become clear and will require more data to suss out. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026

Checking the source of the content, as well as the date, location, and other news sources are all ways to suss out whether an image is accurate, according to experts. —Lauren Fichten, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

The attendees tried to suss out the practicality of SINAP’s ambitious plan. —Colin Jones, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for suss out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout