To figure out something means to understand it, or find the answer to it, after thinking it through.
What Does Figure Out Mean?
Figure isn't just a shape or a number. It's also an old, informal way of saying "to think" or "to reckon" — as in I figured you'd be late. So figure out isn't as strange as it looks: it's really about thinking your way to an answer.
One easy way to picture it (just a memory trick, not the real history): imagine thinking until an answer's shape finally comes out of the confusion.
Natural Examples
It took me a while, but I finally figured out how the washing machine settings work.
Can you figure out why the numbers on this spreadsheet don't add up?
We're still trying to figure out where to go on holiday this year.
Can You Separate It?
Yes. Figure out is separable: the thing you're solving can go in the middle.
With a noun, both places are fine.
✅ Figure out the answer.
✅ Figure the answer out.
With it, him, her, them, the small word must go in the middle.
✅ Figure it out.
❌ Figure out it.
How to Use It
Figure out often pairs with a question word:
- figure out how to fix it
- figure out what happened
- figure out why it broke
You can also use it for a person: figure someone out means to understand their character. I still can't figure him out — one day he's friendly, the next he barely says hello.
It's an informal, everyday phrase, especially common in American English, though people understand it everywhere.
Common Mistakes
Where does "it" go? In the middle.
❌ I can't figure out it.
✅ I can't figure it out.
Thinking your way there, or just learning a fact?
Figure out often means you worked it out by thinking.
Find out often means you learned it, sometimes just by asking or reading.
❌ I figured out the shop closes at 6. (if you just read it on a sign)
✅ I found out the shop closes at 6.
In a Conversation
Leo: Why won't this printer connect to my laptop?
Amir: No idea. Let me have a look — I'll figure it out.
Leo: Thanks. I've been trying for twenty minutes.
Amir: Found it — wrong Wi-Fi network the whole time.
Easy Way to Remember It
Think until the answer comes out.
Similar Expressions
- find out something: to learn a fact, often from an outside source rather than by thinking it through. I found out the train was delayed.
- work out something: very close to figure out, and often interchangeable. Can you work out the total cost?
Quick Check
- I can't ______ this puzzle. (figure out it / figure it out)
- I read on the sign that the shop closes at 6. Did I find out or figure out that fact?
- "I still can't figure my new neighbour out." What does this tell you about the neighbour?
Answers
- figure it out: the small word it goes in the middle.
- found out: you learned it by reading, not by thinking it through.
- The neighbour is hard to understand — their character is confusing or unpredictable.