crossword puzzle

American  

noun

• crossword puzzles
  plural

1. a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues or definitions are supplied and fitted into correspondingly numbered sets of squares, one letter per square, the words being arranged horizontally or vertically so that most letters form part of two words.

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crossword puzzle British  

/ ˈkrɒsˌwɜːd /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: crossword.  a puzzle in which the solver deduces words suggested by numbered clues and writes them into corresponding boxes in a grid to form a vertical and horizontal pattern

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• crossword puzzles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of crossword puzzle

1910–15; cross- + word, allegedly for earlier word cross

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crossword puzzle

"You could really see the opportunity -- not just for a crossword puzzle, but for a collection of games," he noted.

From Barron's ● May 16, 2026

He notes that the interwar period allowed increased leisure time for many, generating fads for new games such as the clue-based crossword puzzle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Windey said yes as the two hung out together in the hotel bed in the morning, working a bespoke crossword puzzle that carried the message “Will you marry me Gabby?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025

This week, host June Thomas talks to Anna Shechtman, a crossword puzzle creator whose new book is called The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle.

From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2024

He turned to the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers