figure something/someone out
phrasal verb with figure verb uk/ˈfɪɡ.ər/ us/ˈfɪɡ.jɚ/
informal
B2 弄懂，弄明白;想出
to finally understand something or someone, or find the solution to a problem after a lot of thought
[ + question word ] I can't figure out why he did it. 我弄不明白他为什么要那么做。
I find him really odd - I can't figure him out at all. 我觉得他确实很怪，我真是一点儿也不明白他。
Can you figure out the answer to question 5? 你能想出问题5的答案吗？
- More examples
- We need to figure out what went wrong.
- It took them ages to figure out how to assemble the chest of drawers.
- As soon as she figures out what happened, you're in trouble.
- When you've figured the answer out, put your hand up.
- They spent 20 minutes figuring out how to open the box.