riddle

¹ American  

[rid-l] / ˈrɪd l /

noun

1. a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.

2. a puzzling question, problem, or matter.

3. a puzzling thing or person.

4. any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.

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verb (used without object)

riddled, riddling

1. to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

riddle ² American  

[rid-l] / ˈrɪd l /

verb (used with object)

riddled, riddling

1. to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve.

   to riddle the target.

2. to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.).

   a government riddled with graft.

3. to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks.

   to riddle a person's reputation.

4. to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.

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noun

1. a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.

riddle ¹ British  

/ ˈrɪdəl /

verb

1. (usually foll by with) to pierce or perforate with numerous holes

   riddled with bullets

2. to damage or impair

3. to put through a sieve; sift

4. to fill or pervade

   the report was riddled with errors

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noun

1. a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc

riddle ² British  

/ ˈrɪdəl /

noun

1. a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum

2. a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma

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verb

1. to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)

2. (intr) to speak in riddles

Synonym Usage

See puzzle.

Other Word Forms

• riddler
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of riddle¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun redel, redels, Old English rǣdels(e) “counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle” + -els(e) noun suffix; cognate with German Rätsel, Dutch raadsel; see also rede

Origin of riddle²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder; cognate with German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum “sieve”; verb derivative of the noun

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Explanation

What's a question or problem that requires a bit of thought before you answer? It's a riddle, of course. The verb riddle can mean to speak in a puzzling fashion, though that use is not very common. The word riddle might put you in mind of such brain-teasers as "Why did the chicken cross the road?", but riddles actually have a distinguished history in English literature going back to the 10th century. Today, you often find riddle used to mean a hard problem or question to figure out. Is it a riddle to you why you have to go to school? In an unrelated use, if something is riddled with holes, there are many holes in it, quite possibly from bullets!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

riddle riddled riddling

When Felix and his quirky next-door neighbor Marigold find a wooden box labeled “Open Me” hidden away in a closet, they discover a recording device with an intriguing auditory riddle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

I mean, the reason to be optimistic is because humans are amazing problem-solving riddle crackers, right?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

A 48-46 defeat, settled by a France penalty with the clock in the red, only adds to the riddle.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

But the cyclops can’t solve the simplest of riddles and the increasingly exasperated maidens, who’ll be free once a riddle is solved, can’t get them to stop approaching the cave or from making terrible guesses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026

Dr. Rachel Lance leads a team of Duke University researchers seeking answers to the riddle of the Hunley.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Software engineer Simon Martin, 44, who lives in Ancoats, recounted how a cab driver told him he would have hesitated once to pick him up, when the area was riddled with crime.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

And that was before the surf zone became riddled with rocks, logs, rods, pipes and wires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Narenthiran added the prison system was riddled with "lost people" who do not have anyone to advocate for them due to language barriers or a lack of family.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

And being riddled with all the cliched insecurities that every other actor, when you’re playing it, you go, “God, this feels great. To not even have to try with people must be so wonderful.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Her new press policy meant that most reporters left her alone, but a few still concocted glitzy stories that were riddled with fake facts.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The next movement, dedicated to Smith’s mother, is more traditionally notated — and offers the riddling complexity that Smith builds from motivic repetition.

From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2022

“Gone Girl” bombards us with testimonies, letters, phone calls, riddling treasure hunt clues and the aforementioned diary entries, prodding us to read smarter.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2022

He also served as a source for my notorious 1993 article “The Death of Proof,” which reported that “the doubts riddling modern human thought have finally infected mathematics.”

From Scientific American ● Sep. 15, 2019

A triptych tells riddling tales of masters and servants, with the same two actors playing all the roles, in two sumptuous gardens at an Italian villa.

From The New Yorker ● May 6, 2019

Ma Costa was setting a saucepan of milk on the iron stove and riddling the grate to stir the fire up.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

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Related Words

• complexity
• conundrum
• dilemma
• enigma
• mystery
• puzzle
• quandary
• teaser

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