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puzzle through

C1 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

To slowly and carefully think your way through something hard until you get to the end.

Literal meaning: To work like solving a puzzle all the way through from beginning to end.

Meanings

1 C1 neutral

To laboriously think through something complex or confusing, making progress step by step.

"She puzzled through the dense legal document, trying to understand what she had signed."

Grammar: inseparable
2 C1 neutral

To manage to solve or understand a series of connected problems or steps despite difficulty.

"The students puzzled through the advanced math problems one by one until they reached the final answer."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

A less common phrasal verb. Emphasizes the sustained mental effort required to navigate something complex from start to finish, rather than simply finding a single answer. More commonly found in American English than British English.

Commonly used with

problem instructions manual argument logic maze

Forms

Base
puzzle through
I/you/we/they
3rd person
puzzles through
he/she/it
Past simple
puzzled through
yesterday
Past participle
puzzled through
have + pp
-ing form
puzzling through
continuous

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