figure somebody out
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: figure something out
Meaning · English
understand someone's character or behavior
Literally: determine someone's shape or form
Register: neutral
Examples
It took me a while to figure her out.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR B2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “figure somebody out” mean?
understand someone's character or behavior Literally: determine someone's shape or form
Is “figure somebody out” formal or informal?
figure somebody out is generally neutral.