to work it out
165
3.2
- phrasal verb
- Maybe we can eventually work it out so we can have coffee at Beano's now and then.
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeBut this was not accurate enough to work it out.
- But this was not accurate enough to work it out.
- you the need to understand my life and work it out
- And, and that's been a bit of almost trial and error and just working it out.
- Yeah, I'm still working with him and how it come on top and how I worked it out, who it was.
- And so I worked out the probability for for those transitions and I worked it out up to up to the first five transitions.
- But I think as a group of footballers, certainly when you've got experienced players in the room, they'll work it out pretty fast.
- And she like worked it out that I would just have to go to rehab for six months.
- You might catch yourself with a pair of chopsticks and get a splinter and that's the time where it it works itself out.
- But if they don't work it out in general, they're at risk for some kind of mental or physical manifestation.
- Now in movies where they're eventually going to work it out, you want to see that that the relationship has has hit a snag in in date night.
Examples
-
The team had a disagreement, but they managed to work it out before the meeting.
-
I'm still hoping she'll call or show up, and maybe we can work it out.
Fiction book (2001) -
I like to let them work it out until they need help.
-
And if you actually work it out, you get that.
-
Or can you work it out with the bank?
-
We'll just have to work it out.
-
The world body told the two countries to work it out between themselves.
Academic text (1998) -
Yep, we worked it out.
-
I still remember how nervous I was, but we worked it out very professionally.
Academic text (2013) -
But you'll be able to work it out just fine.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
∞
2.2
To think about something and find an answer or understand it
∞
1.3
To find the answer to a problem or puzzle
950
2.8
To find a solution or plan by thinking carefully
863
3.3
To think of a plan to get past a problem
623
3.3
To find an answer to a problem and end a disagreement
222
2.7
To find and fix a problem or confusion
152
3.4
To deal with a problem, task, or feeling step by step until it is done
41
2.7
To think of a way to solve a problem
Antonyms
How Solved
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to resolve or find a solution' is related to the constituents: 'work' (apply effort or try to figure something out) combined with the particle 'out' which often signals completion or reaching a result. However, the specific verbal particle sense that yields 'find a solution' is somewhat conventionalized for phrasal verbs and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure, so the item is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb work it out comes from the image of someone working on a problem until the answer comes out. Imagine pulling and untangling a knot — you work the knot out — so the phrase means 'to find a solution'.