puzzle
Americannoun
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puzzles
plural
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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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puzzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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puzzled,
past participle, past
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puzzling
present participle
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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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puzzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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puzzled,
past participle, past
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puzzling
present participle
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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:
When combined with the system of another free game created by Hazelden, Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes - where players throw stones into water to create paths - brand-new puzzle opportunities suddenly arise.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Once you can answer all of those questions, you’ll be closer to finishing the puzzle.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
As our new study, published in Nature, shows, these fossils are crucial for addressing a longstanding puzzle about the major evolutionary leap that led to all complex life on Earth: the origin of eukaryotes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
We, the audience, are the final piece of the puzzle, the culpable players who not only ate up the original “To Catch a Predator,” but all the media and memes that spun off it.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
It was the sound of one more piece of Edward Ashton’s puzzle falling into place.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
It’s a friendly competition—think CrossFit with mind puzzles and group hugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Expect a series of escape room-inspired puzzles to unravel, a bounty of ’80s references and a chance to encounter a Teddy Ruxpin doll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Come early to mingle with the cast, in character, of course, who may or may not need your help in deciphering some puzzles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
One of the major puzzles in fundamental physics involves the enormous difference between the scale of the universe we experience and the Planck scale, the fundamental energy scale associated with quantum gravity.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 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
Not long ago, ordering a nonalcoholic beer at Oktoberfest could draw puzzled looks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Their migration has long fascinated scientists, who have puzzled over how they found their way on a journey they only ever make once.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The resurgence of totalizing ideologies among the young has a lot of smart people puzzled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
These kidney lipid droplets have puzzled scientists for more than a century.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
The four of them filled their tummies, and while they did, Penelope puzzled over how much had changed.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Speaking of parks, it’s inconsistent and puzzling that the museum’s beautiful park, which edges right up to the building, can be entered without having to also pass through security.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
And “One Man In” is a puzzling title: Mr. Craighead wasn’t a sole actor but was accompanied by paramilitary officers from Kenya and a crew of security personnel and civilians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The puzzling part is how strong the genetic case looks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Computer models are helping scientists explain a puzzling pattern of deformation beneath the East African Rift System.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
She paddled toward the beach, puzzling all the while at what had just happened.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
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.
