noun
Etymology
Origin of puzzler
Explanation
A puzzler is a confusing or tricky problem. The mystery of why you always lose your car keys can be described as a puzzler. You might be sure you'll ace your math test until you get to the final question, a complete puzzler that you can't figure out how to solve. Other kinds of puzzlers could be the complicated plot of a novel you're reading or what the secret ingredient is in your dad's brownie recipe. The noun puzzler has been around since the mid-1600s, from puzzle, "bewilder or confound."
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.
This mix of promise and threat is a puzzler.
From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026
Hamaguchi welcomes all interpretations of his elegant puzzler, adding that he found the process of writing and shooting “Evil Does Not Exist” restorative.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2024
Those compounds didn't react at all, a puzzler the researchers are still trying to understand.
From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2024
She was a voracious reader, ace crossword puzzler and heavyweight Scrabble player.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2024
“I wish I understood it. I’d love to make my puzzler pieces hold together like that.”
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
