verb phrase🎓 English idiom

wrap your head around

to fully understand something difficult

What it means

To fully understand or come to terms with something that is complicated, surprising, or hard to accept. It implies the idea takes real mental effort to grasp.

Examples

  • I still can't wrap my head around how the trick actually works.
  • It took her a while to wrap her head around the new tax rules.
  • He's struggling to wrap his head around the idea of moving overseas.
  • Once you wrap your head around the basics, the rest gets much easier.

Where it comes from

A 20th-century colloquial expression, mainly American, using the image of mentally encircling or 'getting around' a difficult concept in order to contain and understand it.

Related idioms

#read between the lines#miss the point#off the top of my head#ring a bell

🎓 Think you know your idioms?

Take the English Idioms Test — 20 terms, instant result, no signup.

Take the test

Built by the team behind Deep In.