to suss out
8
8.2
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
averiguar
- The detective needed to suss out the truth behind the mysterious disappearance.
- suss out the situation
- difficult to suss out
- able to suss out
How do we suss out what is truly simultaneous?
- How do we suss out what is truly simultaneous?
- It's nice that you're able to kind of suss out what's going on before someone asks you.
- OK, you guys, I'm here in England and yesterday we were like walking around the neighborhood, sussing it out, seeing what's around.
- But how do you even suss out who is at least sort of providing better evidence?
- Has more impact and then we can suss out to see is there an opening to share what we're feeling as well?
- And we don't really know how big the window of text is, but you can do an example experiments with it to try to, to try to suss that out.
Examples
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We're gonna try and suss out who is the imposter who has the bad dream.
-
I see these people every day and I'm always trying to suss out who they are and what they're about.
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But how do you even suss out who is at least sort of providing better evidence?
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Come on, we can suss it out before the others get here, huh?
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I was just hoping you could, you know, really suss it out.
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People may tell you strange things just to watch you and suss out your reaction.
Academic text (1997) -
I guess I'm trying to suss out the extent of, or depth of the term "friend."
Blog text (10) -
Great, I'll talk to Lyla, see if I can suss out any details.
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It's nice that you're able to kind of suss out what's going on before someone asks you.
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Libraries often go to great pains to suss out what the community wants; letting us know directly is great.
Blog text (26)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Examine something to make sure it is correct or true
∞
2.1
To learn something you did not know, often by searching or asking
∞
2.2
To think about something and find an answer or understand it
∞
2.8
To look carefully at something to find facts
∞
2.5
To look at or test something to learn more about it
642
2.5
To check something carefully, like papers or work
573
2.8
Examine something carefully to find out more
137
3.9
Find the real reason for a problem by checking carefully
93
3.2
To look at something to make sure it is correct and works well
14
8.4
To find out what is happening by looking for facts and clues
13
6.7
To search carefully to find hidden facts or documents
10
2.8
To look at something carefully to find mistakes or problems
4
4.4
To think hard to find the answer to a difficult problem
3
4.8
To think carefully to find an answer to a problem
1
7.9
Work out what is happening in a situation by looking and thinking
How Careful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to investigate or figure something out' is directly derivable from combining 'suss' (to investigate/deduce) with the particle 'out', which commonly signals completion or bringing something to light. This follows a regular verb+particle phrasal pattern that a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer.
Etymology
Suss out may come from the short word suss, used to mean 'suspect' or to look closely, plus out, which shows bringing something hidden into view. So to suss out means 'to figure out' or discover what was hidden.