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Glite Dictionary
to sort oneself out

to sort oneself out

2 5.9
To put your life and thoughts in order when you feel confused
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : organizarse
  • It took him several moments to sort himself out, looking for all the world as if he were endeavoring to decide which limb went where and making mistakes as he went along.

Examples

  • I think that I just need to go and sort myself out a bit.

    Rocketman (2019)

  • Alone, I stared at the water and tried, with no success, to sort myself out and raise some moral indignation over what appeared to be about to happen, so I could stomp off the boat when we docked and not ever look back at the trouble that was standing just a few yards away.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Well, just for tomorrow, but you have to sort yourself out.

    Patrick (2018)

  • Gotta have a run and then sort myself out before work tonight.

    It Never Sleeps (2014)

  • Look, I need a little time to sort myself out.

    Hereafter (2010)

  • I went into hospital to, um, try and sort myself out.

    Jack Be Nimble (1993)

  • Drop your things there now, and you can sort yourself out later.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • You've got to sort yourself out.

    Glamour Dolls (2017)

  • Romy travels aimlessly to sort herself out until she reaches Florence.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I need a quiet weekend to sort myself out and think about my future.

Synonyms

to sort out
vsto sort oneself out
222 2.7

To find and fix a problem or confusion

focuses more on fixing personal life rather than any problem
to get one's act together
vsto sort oneself out
  • Informal
32 4.6

To organize yourself and behave better to reach a goal

aims at general life stability beyond only performance improvement
to get your shit together
vsto sort oneself out
  • Offensive
24 9.9

To put your life in order and take care of your tasks

is the same idea but neutral and nonvulgar
to get one's head together
vsto sort oneself out
  • Informal
5 7.7

Put your thoughts and feelings in order after a time of confusion

covers broader life issues beyond just sorting thoughts or feelings
putting one's house in order
vsto sort oneself out
1 4.9

Getting your home and things tidy and ready

applies to overall personal life not only home or household matters

Antonyms

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

to complicate
101 4.1

To make something harder to understand or do

How Organized

to get one's act together
  • Informal
32 4.6
to sort oneself out
  • Informal
2 5.9
to pull oneself together
  • Informal
81 5.1
to manage
239 2.3
to cope
272 2.9

Surface Forms

sort oneself out infinitive
sorted oneself out past
sorted oneself out past participle
sorting oneself out present participle
sorts oneself out third person singular

Morphology

sort + oneself + out

The sense 'to organize or resolve one’s personal problems' follows directly from combining 'sort' (to arrange or put in order) with the particle 'out' (giving a sense of completion/resolution) and the reflexive 'oneself' (indicating the action applies to the person). This V + particle + reflexive pattern is productive in English and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Sort oneself out comes from the image of someone using sort to put a pile of messy papers or items into neat stacks, so they can calm oneself and get everything out and in order. So it means 'to organize or resolve' your thoughts, feelings, or life.