work out
BothSense-dependent: some meanings take an object and split, others take none. Check the sense you mean.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: work OUT. Saying “WORK out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “work” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “work out” is said “wor-kout”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is work OUT, the noun is WORKOUT. Same two words, different beat — “to work OUT” is the action, “a workout” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
3 meanings
- 1
(Of a situation) to develop in a particular way, usually well.
- “Things didn't work out as planned, but we'll try again.”
- “It all worked out in the end.”
Similar: turn out, pan out
- 2
To solve or calculate something.
- “I couldn't work out how they'd got the answer.”
- “Work out the total before you add the tip.”
Similar: calculate, figure out
- 3
To exercise.
- “She works out four mornings a week.”
Similar: train, exercise