Jump To:

• labyrinth
  labyrinth

  noun

  an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.
• Labyrinth
  Labyrinth

  noun

  Greek myth a huge maze constructed for King Minos in Crete by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur

labyrinth

American  

[lab-uh-rinth] / ˈlæb ə rɪnθ /

noun

labyrinths plural

1. an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.

   Synonyms:

   web, network, maze

2. a maze of paths bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who search for a way out.

3. a complicated or tortuous arrangement, as of streets or buildings.

   Synonyms:

   knot, tangle, snarl, jungle, maze, warren

4. any confusingly intricate state of things or events; a bewildering complex.

   His papers were lost in an hellish bureaucratic labyrinth.

   After the death of her daughter, she wandered in a labyrinth of sorrow for what seemed like a decade.

   Synonyms:

   morass, forest, jungle, wilderness

5. Classical Mythology. Labyrinth. a vast maze built in Crete by Daedalus, at the command of King Minos, to house the Minotaur.

6. Anatomy.

   1. the internal ear, consisting of a bony portion bony labyrinth and a membranous portion membranous labyrinth.

   2. the aggregate of air chambers in the ethmoid bone, between the eye and the upper part of the nose.

7. a mazelike pattern inlaid in the pavement of a church.

8. Also called acoustic labyrinth;.  Also called acoustical labyrinth.  Audio. a loudspeaker enclosure with air chambers at the rear for absorbing sound waves radiating in one direction so as to prevent their interference with waves radiated in another direction.

---

labyrinth ¹ British  

/ ˈlæbərɪnθ /

noun

1. a mazelike network of tunnels, chambers, or paths, either natural or man-made Compare maze

2. any complex or confusing system of streets, passages, etc

3. a complex or intricate situation

4. 1. any system of interconnecting cavities, esp those comprising the internal ear

   2. another name for internal ear

5. electronics an enclosure behind a high-performance loudspeaker, consisting of a series of air chambers designed to absorb unwanted sound waves

---

Labyrinth ² British  

/ ˈlæbərɪnθ /

noun

1. Greek myth a huge maze constructed for King Minos in Crete by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur

---

labyrinth Scientific  

/ lăb′ə-rĭnth′ /

1. The system of interconnecting canals and spaces that make up the inner ear of many vertebrates. The labyrinth has both a bony component, made up of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the vestibule, and a membranous one.

---

Labyrinth Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, a vast maze on the island of Crete. The great inventor Daedalus designed it, and the king of Crete kept the Minotaur in it. Very few people ever escaped from the Labyrinth. One was Theseus, the killer of the Minotaur.

---

Discover More

A labyrinth can be literally a maze or figuratively any highly intricate construction or problem.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• labyrinths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of labyrinth

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labýrinthos; replacing earlier laborynt, from Medieval Latin laborintus, Latin, as above

Explanation

A labyrinth is a structure with many connected paths or passages in which it is hard to find your way. In figurative use, a labyrinth is a complicated situation: our tax code is a labyrinth of rules and regulations. In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was the structure built for King Minos of Crete to confine the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The word maze is a near synonym for labyrinth, and is also used figuratively, as in, "After war broke out, trying to figure out how to get a visa to leave the country was like navigating a maze, a veritable labyrinth of wrong turns and false hope."

Example Sentences

Elphick said the vandals had removed two door knockers from the statue which were a nod to the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth which Jones had co-written.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

It is easy to miss the sign for Halls Hill Lookout & Labyrinth if you don’t take it slowly on the road and, once you do see it, pull off to the side.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2024

This dilemma is thrown into relief when Faye, astounded by the power of “The Labyrinth of Inhumanity,” disgraced writer T.C.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2023

Labyrinth Chollima is one of North Korea’s most prolific hacking groups and is said to be responsible for some of the isolated country’s most daring and disruptive cyber intrusions.

From Reuters • Jul. 20, 2023

‘The pattern reminds me of Pasiphae’s pendant: the symbol of the Labyrinth.’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• tangle