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

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

John Parker believes he has solved the riddle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

There was one part of the riddle he couldn’t crack.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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

Critics have accused the program of being riddled with fraud and abuse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 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

When the second-largest U.S. bank discloses its quarterly financial results, analysts have to decipher the lexicon of CEO Brian Moynihan, riddled with obscure, archaic words like “gainsay,” “concomitant” and “fantods.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

But they needed to find a way to exchange information with Penkovsky in Moscow—a city where nearly every foreign agent was known to the KGB, and every wall, office, and apartment was riddled with bugs.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

“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

Gaffney’s focus on human/equine body language is fascinating, especially in the way it helps her discern the weaknesses riddling some of the hard cases she’s dealing with.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2020

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

He’s a difficult poet — allusive, riddling, satirical, strange.

From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2016

This riddling figure with flinty eyes isn’t the Locke who stood on the rooftop of his estate and spoke so gently to me or who chased me, laughing, through its halls.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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Related Words

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

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