phrasal verb🧩 phrasal verb

work out

to exercise physically

What it means

To exercise to improve fitness, especially in a gym. It can also mean to solve a problem, calculate an answer, or have a successful result.

Examples

  • He works out four times a week before going to the office.
  • I need to work out a way to pay off these student loans.
  • Things didn't work out between them, and they split up last spring.
  • Can you work out how much we each owe for the trip?

Where it comes from

Separable in the 'solve' sense, intransitive in the 'exercise' sense. The fitness meaning grew with gym culture in the 20th century; the noun 'workout' is now standard.

Related phrasal verbs

#figure out#sort out#warm up#iron out

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