to work it out
165
3.2
- phrasal verb
:
resolver
- Maybe we can eventually work it out so we can have coffee at Beano's now and then.
But 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'.