baffle
Americanverb (used with object)
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baffles,
present (3rd person singular)
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baffled,
past participle, past
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baffling
present participle
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to confuse, bewilder, or perplex.
He was baffled by the technical language of the instructions.
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to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.
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to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).
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to equip with a baffle or baffles.
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Obsolete. to cheat; trick.
verb (used without object)
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baffles,
present (3rd person singular)
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baffled,
past participle, past
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baffling
present participle
noun
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baffles
plural
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something that balks, checks, or deflects.
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an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.
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any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.
verb
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to perplex; bewilder; puzzle
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to frustrate (plans, efforts, etc)
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to check, restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid or the emission of sound or light)
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to provide with a baffle
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obsolete to cheat or trick
noun
Usage
What does baffle mean? Baffle means to confuse, bewilder, perplex, or confound. The word usually implies that such confusion causes someone to come to standstill—that it stumps them or makes them completely bewildered. You might be baffled by a difficult riddle or confusing instructions. People’s strange behavior might baffle you. The term is often used in the context of experts or scientists being baffled by some newly discovered thing or phenomenon—one they can’t figure out or comprehend. Someone or something that baffles can be described as baffling. As a verb, baffle can also mean to deflect or regulate the movement or flow of something, such as gas or light. The word can also be used as a noun referring to a component or part that does this. Example: This door is completely baffling! I can never figure out how to get it unlocked.
Synonym Usage
See thwart.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bafflementnoun
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bafflernoun
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bafflingnessnoun
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bafflingadjective
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unbafflingadjective
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bafflinglyadverb
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unbafflinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bafflesimple
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bafflessimple
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have baffledperfect
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has baffledperfect
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am bafflingprogressive
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are bafflingprogressive
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is bafflingprogressive
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have been bafflingperfect progressive
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has been bafflingperfect progressive
Past
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baffledsimple
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had baffledperfect
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was bafflingprogressive
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were bafflingprogressive
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had been bafflingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of baffle
First recorded in 1540–50; 1910–15 baffle for def. 8; perhaps from Scots bauchle “to disgrace, treat with contempt,” equivalent to bauch ( see baff) + -le
Explanation
To baffle is to confuse. If you are completely puzzled as to what baffle means, you might say that this word baffles you. Baffle means "confuse," but it can also mean "amaze." A magician might baffle you with an impressive magic trick. Additionally, this verb can mean "to spoil, thwart, or defeat by means of confusion." In a debate, you might baffle the opposition by introducing new information that your opponents are not familiar with. Baffle can also be used like stump. If you are stumped by a question on a test, then you’ve been baffled by that question.
Vocabulary lists containing baffle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Eventually, Ver’s team and Bhirud hit on the deal that would baffle criminal tax experts.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
He empathizes with people born in the 1940s who feel irrelevant, since even 20-year-olds now baffle him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
The question of how these two—a vulgar revolutionary and a soft-spoken, polite epitome of the GOP old guard—have stayed together for so long, with such limited drama between them, can baffle observers.
From Slate ● Jan. 20, 2025
Fans are entitled to expect the technology to reduce the errors by highlighting the obvious mistakes, not baffle them with science.
From BBC ● May 6, 2024
“The things we know; the things we think we know but don’t know for sure; and the things that totally baffle us and are driving us bonkers.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
"As a regular cinema and theatre-goer, it is the bane of my life. Just turn it off and enjoy what you're watching. It truly baffles me."
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
Giant steel pipe’s mysterious overnight growth spurt baffles a Japanese city.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
Among them is Clarence Willard, billed in a 1920s Vaudeville advertisement as “the man who grows” and “completely baffles all medical and scientific experts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
“It baffles all of us as animal lovers. Who could do this?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2025
At the same time, it can’t be so complex that the first time around it baffles the children and turns them off.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Since history's most powerful telescope went online in 2022, it has been spotting many extremely bright cosmic objects dubbed "little red dots" in the early universe that have baffled scientists.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
When officers finally acted, they pulled only half the hose out, leaving the rest coiled inside the cabinet, and stood there baffled as to why the water wouldn’t flow.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
“I understand that I have value as a performer, but I still don’t get how I got this part,” he says, sounding a bit baffled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie renewed her plea for information regarding her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, whose disappearance nearly six months ago has baffled investigators and left her family searching for answers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Never did I see such baffled malice on a face; and never, I trust, shall such ever be seen again by mortal eyes.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Ms. Lowrey highlights the inept and baffling design of many of these programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
If you find that phrase baffling, consider yourself fortunate.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2, said his airline found "the continued pursuit of a policy so baffling - in cases where it has clearly not been implemented in a robust manner".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Now, markets are retreating in spectacular fashion, baffling executives and analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
But then a baffling and magnificent thing happened—one by one, the stars came out, here and there a green flash in the dark.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
