puzzle
a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.
a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.
a crossword puzzle: Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?
to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle: Her attitude puzzles me.
to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex: The problem puzzled him for weeks.
to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.
Archaic. to make intricate or complicated.
to be perplexed or confused.
to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.
puzzle out, to solve by careful study or effort: I was unable to puzzle out the message.
Origin of puzzle
1synonym study For puzzle
Other words for puzzle
Other words from puzzle
- puz·zled·ly, adverb
- puz·zled·ness, noun
- un·puz·zle, verb (used with object), un·puz·zled, un·puz·zling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use puzzle in a sentence
The attitude of the local colleagues at first puzzled us, and then made us snicker in a superior way.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire | H.L. Mencken | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSubterranean explorers puzzled over the mysterious red door that cut off access to underground tunnels leading to the bunker.
Many jazz fans were puzzled by this finding, which seems incompatible with the lackluster sales figures in the genre.
Jazz (The Music of Coffee and Donuts) Has Respect, But It Needs Love | Ted Gioia | June 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat question has puzzled astronomers for decades, but a new study published just last week may have the answer.
He began to read, raising his eyebrows with a puzzled, whimsical air, which made me tremble with suppressed anger.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The conflict in Tom's puzzled heart sharpened that evening into dreadful edges that cut him mercilessly whichever way he turned.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodRobin Hood stared at him for a moment with a puzzled expression, and then walked into his little shop, and Davy turned away.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylHe has become by brute force of circumstances a sort of collectivist, puzzled only as to how much of a collectivist to be.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThe doctor, a little puzzled, took his leave, but had not gone ten yards when the housekeeper flew screaming after him.
Uncanny Tales | VariousHe walked briskly down the avenue, and Hedges stood looking after him, slightly puzzled in his mind.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
British Dictionary definitions for puzzle
/ (ˈpʌzəl) /
to perplex or be perplexed
(intr foll by over) to attempt the solution (of); ponder (about): he puzzled over her absence
(tr usually foll by out) to solve by mental effort: he puzzled out the meaning of the inscription
a person or thing that puzzles
a problem that cannot be easily or readily solved
the state or condition of being puzzled
a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solution: See jigsaw puzzle, Chinese puzzle
Origin of puzzle
1Derived forms of puzzle
- puzzling, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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