maze
Americannoun
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mazes
plural
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a confusing network of intercommunicating paths or passages; labyrinth.
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any complex system or arrangement that causes bewilderment, confusion, or perplexity.
Her petition was lost in a maze of bureaucratic red tape.
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a state of bewilderment or confusion.
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a winding movement, as in dancing.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a complex network of paths or passages, esp one with high hedges in a garden, designed to puzzle those walking through it Compare labyrinth
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a similar system represented diagrammatically as a pattern of lines
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any confusing network of streets, pathways, etc
a maze of paths
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a state of confusion
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of maze
1250–1300; Middle English mase, noun use of aphetic variant of amasen to amaze
Explanation
A maze is a puzzle with twists and turns, where you try to find a path from the entrance to the exit without hitting dead ends. You can walk through a maze, or let your pencil do the walking. The goal of a maze is to get through it, which means going the wrong way, retracing your steps, and choosing different paths. There are mazes that you walk through, and mazes on paper where you draw a line to the end. You can also use maze for any complicated system, like the maze of hallways and staircases in an enormous new school. Originally, maze meant "delusion or bewilderment," which captures what it's like to be inside one.
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:
Above a maze of tents in a crowded displacement camp in Gaza, homemade wind turbines made from scrap metal and salvaged debris spin in the sea breeze, bringing electricity to struggling Palestinians.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
"You are trying to establish answers yourself - but it takes you down a maze of rabbit holes," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Also offered: a straw maze, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, giant rocking horses, slides and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Participants improved on one measure of a computerized maze task, but the researchers found no significant benefit on the other cognitive tests or mood measures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
I watched Brother Zesht strain to follow Samir into this maze of thoughts.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
It means extra Sunday business for bourbon wholesalers, lacrosse clinics and corn mazes in Central Maryland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
From pumpkin festivals and haunted mazes to zombie experiences, businesses say demand for Halloween events has soared as the celebration grows from a single night into a month-long attraction.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
They navigated mazes and remembered previously encountered objects almost as effectively as younger mice, while outperforming similarly aged mice whose EP2 receptors continued functioning normally.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
The building, filled to its ceilings, grew increasingly dilapidated; Langley’s paranoia about suspected intruders led him to build mazes of detritus to throw them off.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The king’s men succeeded only in getting lost in the dungeon’s tortuous mazes.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
I want to assume I’m headed toward civilization, but America’s public lands are mazed with old roads that peter out far from anything.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 11, 2020
Across the patio, the mazed eyes, mind-sickness, and poignant affection between Galván and what he calls “my family”, echo down 10 years on different faces.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2019
Passing coffeehouses and boutiques, I arrived at a room mazed by long tables, with cardstock and Sharpie pens as place settings.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2018
I knew it had to do with being poor, with learning English and studying the mazed map of London.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2015
His vow recorded, sudden through the church Ran with fleet foot a lady mazed with joy, Crying, 'A maiden babe! and lo, the queen Late dying lives and thrives!'
From Legends of the Saxon Saints by Aubrey De Vere
It’s mazing how quickly perspective can shift in this league.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2011
I am the rock, The spiked foundations of the plan ye rear Among the mazing stars.
From Time Magazine Archive
They struck their tents everywhere; burnt their own Magazines, in some cases; and only went mazing hither and thither,—gravitating all upon Nurnberg, and an impregnable Camp which they have in that neighborhood.
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 19 by Thomas Carlyle
The rays that come to me are but faint cross lights, mazing the obscurity wherein I live.
From Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. II by Herman Melville
It certainly did not look imposing—a mass of spidery tubes mazing round a bulky black box, which was, Lance guessed, some new type of generator.
From Astounding Stories, February, 1931 by Harry Bates
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