conundrum
[ kuh-nuhn-druh m ]
/ kəˈnʌn drəm /
noun
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
anything that puzzles.
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Nearby words
contuse, contused wound, contusion, contusive, conté, conundrum, conurbation, conure, conus, conus arteriosus, conv.
Origin of conundrum
First recorded in 1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for conundrum
British Dictionary definitions for conundrum
conundrum
/ (kəˈnʌndrəm) /
noun
a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words
a puzzling question or problem
Word Origin for conundrum
C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for conundrum
conundrum
1590s, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle." Also spelled quonundrum. The sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper