puzzle

[puhz-uhl]

noun

1. a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.

2. something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.

3. a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.

4. a crossword puzzle.

   Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?

5. a jigsaw puzzle.

verb (used with object)

puzzled, puzzling 

1. to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle.

   Her attitude puzzles me.

   Synonyms: confound

2. to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex.

   The problem puzzled him for weeks.

3. to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.

4. Archaic.,  to make intricate or complicated.

verb (used without object)

puzzled, puzzling 

1. to be perplexed or confused.

2. to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.

verb phrase

1. puzzle out,  to solve by careful study or effort.

   I was unable to puzzle out the message.

puzzle

/ ˈpʌzəl /

verb

1. to perplex or be perplexed

2. to attempt the solution (of); ponder (about)

   he puzzled over her absence

3. to solve by mental effort

   he puzzled out the meaning of the inscription

noun

1. a person or thing that puzzles

2. a problem that cannot be easily or readily solved

3. the state or condition of being puzzled

4. a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solution See jigsaw puzzle Chinese puzzle

Other Word Forms

• puzzledly adverb
• puzzledness noun
• unpuzzle verb (used with object)
• puzzling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of puzzle¹

First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of puzzle¹

C16: of unknown origin

Synonym Study

Puzzle, riddle, enigma refer to something baffling or confusing that is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or problem, intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind; it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity: a crossword puzzle; The reason for their behavior remains a puzzle. A riddle is an intentionally obscure statement or question, the meaning of or answer to which is to be arrived at only by guessing: the famous riddle of the Sphinx. Enigma, originally meaning riddle, now refers to some baffling problem with connotations of mysteriousness: He will always be an enigma to me.

Example Sentences

Unfortunately, Balding locked in an incorrect combination at the first gate before the contestants had even begun tackling the puzzle, not realising you only got one chance to enter the code.

Read more on BBC

For decades, astronomers have been puzzled about why there are so many asteroids tumbling chaotically rather than spinning around a single rotational axis, and why smaller asteroids are more likely to be tumbling slowly.

Read more on Science Daily

Wordle, the addictive digital puzzle game offered daily by the New York Times, could soon be coming to television.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"That win was definitely a big piece of the puzzle," she says.

Read more on BBC

So if “Peacemaker” viewers were puzzled as to how a backwards, murderous bigot like Earth Prime Auggie could manifest as a doting father and an affluent man in a nearly identical world, now we know.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• amaze 
• befuddle 
• bemuse 
• bewilder 
• complicate 
• confound 
• disconcert 
• distract 
• disturb 
• dumbfound 
• flabbergast 
• flummox 
• frustrate 
• mystify 
• nonplus 
• perplex 
• rattle 
• stump