untangle

3 definitions • 3 examples

to remove the knots from an untidy mass of string, wire, etc. and separate the different threads

to make a complicated subject or problem, or its different parts, clear and able to be understood:

It took years to untangle the legal complexities of the case.

to remove the knots from a mass of string, wire, hair, etc. and separate the different threads:

I spent ages trying to untangle Rosie’s hair.

fig. It took years to untangle the facts of the case (= make them clear and understood).