labyrinth

[ lab-uh-rinth ]
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noun
  1. an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.

  2. a maze of paths bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who search for a way out.

  1. a complicated or tortuous arrangement, as of streets or buildings.

  2. any confusingly intricate state of things or events; a bewildering complex: His papers were lost in an hellish bureaucratic labyrinth.After the death of her daughter, she wandered in a labyrinth of sorrow for what seemed like a decade.

  3. (initial capital letter)Classical Mythology. a vast maze built in Crete by Daedalus, at the command of King Minos, to house the Minotaur.

  4. Anatomy.

    • the internal ear, consisting of a bony portion (bony labyrinth ) and a membranous portion (membranous labyrinth ).

    • the aggregate of air chambers in the ethmoid bone, between the eye and the upper part of the nose.

  5. a mazelike pattern inlaid in the pavement of a church.

  6. Also called acoustic labyrinth, acoustical labyrinth .Audio. a loudspeaker enclosure with air chambers at the rear for absorbing sound waves radiating in one direction so as to prevent their interference with waves radiated in another direction.

Origin of labyrinth

1
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labýrinthos; replacing earlier laborynt, from Medieval Latin laborintus, Latin, as above

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for labyrinth (1 of 2)

labyrinth

/ (ˈlæbərɪnθ) /


noun
  1. a mazelike network of tunnels, chambers, or paths, either natural or man-made: Compare maze (def. 1)

  2. any complex or confusing system of streets, passages, etc

  1. a complex or intricate situation

    • any system of interconnecting cavities, esp those comprising the internal ear

    • another name for internal ear

  2. electronics an enclosure behind a high-performance loudspeaker, consisting of a series of air chambers designed to absorb unwanted sound waves

Origin of labyrinth

1
C16: via Latin from Greek laburinthos, of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for Labyrinth (2 of 2)

Labyrinth

/ (ˈlæbərɪnθ) /


noun
  1. Greek myth a huge maze constructed for King Minos in Crete by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur

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

Scientific definitions for labyrinth

labyrinth

[ lăbə-rĭnth′ ]


  1. The system of interconnecting canals and spaces that make up the inner ear of many vertebrates. The labyrinth has both a bony component, made up of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the vestibule, and a membranous one.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for Labyrinth

Labyrinth

In classical mythology, a vast maze on the island of Crete. The great inventor Daedalus designed it, and the king of Crete kept the Minotaur in it. Very few people ever escaped from the Labyrinth. One was Theseus, the killer of the Minotaur.

Notes for Labyrinth

A labyrinth can be literally a maze or figuratively any highly intricate construction or problem.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.