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:
Nearly a week after being rescued near Big Bear Lake, Jackie — half of a celebrity bald eagle couple — remains in critical condition as veterinarians continue to puzzle over the cause of her maladies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
A satisfying puzzle break: What’s a four-letter word for “Those who often hear a siren song”? Treat your brain to some delightful wordplay in today’s crossword.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Nevertheless, clouds still hang over how England solve this puzzle after another failure - and the pressure is on Tuchel to come up with the answers.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
The researchers describe phosphate as a previously "invisible" part of the climate puzzle.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
He looked up from his crossword puzzle and sang—to the tune of “Oh! Susanna”—“Oh, Peas-Anna! Don’t you cry for me...”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
He also said he would continue doing the newspaper’s crossword puzzles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
It ties together some of the deepest puzzles in physics, from the information paradox to dark matter and dark energy, from cosmic cycles to the arrow of time.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
I used to make Lizzie loads of games and puzzles.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"I am pleased to see a physical model that can explain this observation, which has puzzled me for several years," El-Badry says.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 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
Instead, they are puzzled by things that don’t line up with their theories of how the world should work.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
“The Ground Above” is an album with a discernible arc, as Ms. Orton moves from puzzled contemplation and reflection to something like acceptance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
“He would be greatly puzzled what to do?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
"For the future, it's a little puzzling, to say the least," she told AFP in an interview.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
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
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
The discovery may also help explain another puzzling hallmark of aging called "protein-transcript decoupling."
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
It can best be approached by concentrating attention on historical patterns that remain puzzling after the effects of major environmental factors have been taken into account.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
