transitive verb
: to estimate or ascertain the character and ability (of a person) : form an opinion or judgment (as of a situation)
sizes up the candidate quickly — W.L.Gresham
at the stockyards the steers were sized up by two kinds of buyers — advt
the power to size up a new problem — H.A.Overstreet
intransitive verb
: to appear or be known as a result of being sized up
here's the way the situation sizes up in key fields — Newsweek
as the outlook sizes up … at this time — U.S. News & World Report