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work out

UK/ˌwɜːk ˈaʊt/US/ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/
phraseB13 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To work out is to exercise at a gym — or for something to end well. Two senses that could hardly be further apart.

The exercise sense gave English the noun workout, written as one word, meaning a session of training. The other sense is about outcomes, so saying that things did not work out means they went wrong, usually about a job or a relationship, and it is gentle by design. There is a third sense meaning to calculate or solve, so you work out a sum, and a fourth in which a price works out at an amount.

Definitions of work out

  1. 1phrasework outTo exercise in order to get fit.B1

    “He goes to work out three mornings a week.”

  2. 2phraseendTo end in a satisfactory way.B2

    “The job did not work out and she left after a year.”

  3. 3phrasecalculateTo calculate or solve something.B1

    “Let me work out what we each owe.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove, Thinking & Memory

First appears in chapter 9 of A Man Called Ove.

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