puzzle sth out
— phrasal verb with puzzle uk/ˈpʌz.əl/us/ˈpʌz.əl/verb [ I + adv/prep, T ]
to discover or understand something by thinking hard about it:
[ + question word ] I still can't puzzle out how I managed to spend so much money last month.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Thinking and contemplating
- -ly
- agonize over/about sth
- chew
- chew sth over
- chew the cud idiom
- chew your cud idiom
- depth
- joined-up thinking
- lateral thinking
- let me see/let's see idiom
- let's see idiom
- puzzle
- rack
- reflect
- the thought crosses sb's mind idiom
- think sth out
- think sth over
- think sth through
- thinking
- worry
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