figure out

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: figure OUT. Saying “FIGURE out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link the R across. American English is rhotic, so the /r/ at the end of “figure” is a real consonant — it moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “figure out” is said “figu-rout”. No /j/ or /w/ glide here; the R does that job itself.

2 meanings

1
To solve or understand something after thinking about it.
- “He couldn't figure out how to solve the math problem.”
- “It took me an hour to figure it out.”
Similar: work out, solve
2
To come to understand a person.
- “I still can't figure her out.”
Similar: make sense of

The particle logic

out

Something exits a container, becomes visible, or is exhausted.

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More FIGURE phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

figure on

To expect or plan for something.

figure out — meaning, examples & how to say it