maze

[ meyz ]
See synonyms for maze on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a confusing network of intercommunicating paths or passages; labyrinth.

  2. any complex system or arrangement that causes bewilderment, confusion, or perplexity: Her petition was lost in a maze of bureaucratic red tape.

  1. a state of bewilderment or confusion.

  2. a winding movement, as in dancing.

verb (used with object),mazed, maz·ing.
  1. Chiefly Dialect. to daze, perplex, or stupefy.

Origin of maze

1
1250–1300; Middle English mase, noun use of aphetic variant of amasen to amaze

Other words from maze

  • mazed·ly [meyzd-lee, mey-zid-], /ˈmeɪzd li, ˈmeɪ zɪd-/, adverb
  • mazedness, noun
  • mazelike, adjective
  • in·ter·maze, verb (used with object), in·ter·mazed, in·ter·maz·ing.

Words that may be confused with maze

Words Nearby maze

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

How to use maze in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for maze

maze

/ (meɪz) /


noun
  1. a complex network of paths or passages, esp one with high hedges in a garden, designed to puzzle those walking through it: Compare labyrinth (def. 1)

  2. a similar system represented diagrammatically as a pattern of lines

  1. any confusing network of streets, pathways, etc: a maze of paths

  2. a state of confusion

verb
  1. an archaic or dialect word for amaze

Origin of maze

1
C13: see amaze

Derived forms of maze

  • mazelike, adjective
  • mazement, noun

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