puzzle
Americannoun
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a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
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something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.
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a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.
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Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?
verb (used with object)
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to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle.
Her attitude puzzles me.
- Synonyms:
- confound
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to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex.
The problem puzzled him for weeks.
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to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.
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Archaic. to make intricate or complicated.
verb (used without object)
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to be perplexed or confused.
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to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.
verb phrase
verb
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to perplex or be perplexed
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to attempt the solution (of); ponder (about)
he puzzled over her absence
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to solve by mental effort
he puzzled out the meaning of the inscription
noun
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a person or thing that puzzles
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a problem that cannot be easily or readily solved
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the state or condition of being puzzled
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a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solution See jigsaw puzzle Chinese puzzle
Synonym Usage
Puzzle, riddle, enigma refer to something baffling or confusing that is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or problem, intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind; it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity: a crossword puzzle; The reason for their behavior remains a puzzle. A riddle is an intentionally obscure statement or question, the meaning of or answer to which is to be arrived at only by guessing: the famous riddle of the Sphinx. Enigma, originally meaning riddle, now refers to some baffling problem with connotations of mysteriousness: He will always be an enigma to me.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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puzzlesimple
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puzzlessimple
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have puzzledperfect
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has puzzledperfect
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am puzzlingprogressive
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are puzzlingprogressive
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is puzzlingprogressive
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have been puzzlingperfect progressive
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has been puzzlingperfect progressive
Past
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puzzledsimple
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had puzzledperfect
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was puzzlingprogressive
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were puzzlingprogressive
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had been puzzlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of puzzle
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
To puzzle over something is to try to understand or solve it. Picture someone struggling with a jigsaw puzzle, trying to figure out how all those tiny pieces fit together to form an image. That person is puzzling over a puzzle! When something puzzles you, it confuses and mystifies you. New technology might continually puzzle your grandfather, while your grandmother is quick to figure it out. When you puzzle over a difficult book or the instructions to your new TV, it's like you're trying to piece together a tricky puzzle — a challenging game or problem. The classic puzzle is a jigsaw puzzle, a picture that's split into small, oddly-shaped pieces you need to reassemble into a whole. There are also logic puzzles, crossword puzzles, and mechanical puzzles like a Rubik's Cube. If you can't figure a person out, you can also call them a puzzle.
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:
Games have become second lives to people, about collaboration, puzzle solving, community and identity.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
In the most extreme case, at one point it gave me less than 10 seconds to figure out a puzzle before a character spat out the solution.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
They also find biological family members who help put some puzzle pieces together and also create a new bond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
"That 'quantum weirdness' is no longer just a philosophical puzzle," said Scully.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Couldn’t Caterpillar have given Chicken the idea for a puzzle cookie without breaking her own?
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Or, if you prefer your puzzles bite-sized, try today’s mini.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2026
This featured noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, weighted blankets and quiet activities such as colouring and puzzles.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
In computer simulations, the information theory-based method successfully solved 99% of Wordle puzzles.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
These hobbyist hawkshaws view homicide cases as puzzles, while the people linked to them, guilty or innocent, are the tougher cases to crack.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026
“Solve two of these mathematically inspired picture puzzles before any of the other teams and you will earn our ninth medal, the Rebus!”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Since its discovery in 2002, the structure has puzzled geologists.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026
"I was puzzled because I could not find any public document that listed the voter identity card as a mandatory document for passport renewal," he wrote.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
While both were doctoral students in Canada, Mann and Pardo puzzled over it for years.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
We are also still somewhat puzzled by the size of the cut and we do not think we are alone in that respect,” they said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Margaret threw her a puzzled glance before answering.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
A competing interpretation has emerged of the preliminary report's most puzzling detail: the brief movement of both fuel-control switches to "cutoff" shortly after take-off.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
But as more analysts bang the drum, this puzzling quantum play might finally start making sense.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
U.S. authorities deny any part in the puzzling series of events, which involved a pair of 35-ton fishing craft — not the sleek speedboats typically pictured in Department of Defense videos of maritime strikes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
It is a team using state-of-the-art 3D imagery who reassemble—virtually—one of the more puzzling objects uncovered: a “divine tree” of bronze that was found in more than 200 pieces, in separate pits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
“It is puzzling, yes,” Penelope murmured, keeping close watch on the boys, whose eyes were again fixed on the bouncing bird.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
