riddle

¹ American  

[rid-l] / ˈrɪd l /

noun

1. a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.

2. a puzzling question, problem, or matter.

3. a puzzling thing or person.

4. any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.

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verb (used without object)

riddled, riddling

1. to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

riddle ² American  

[rid-l] / ˈrɪd l /

verb (used with object)

riddled, riddling

1. to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve.

   to riddle the target.

2. to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.).

   a government riddled with graft.

3. to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks.

   to riddle a person's reputation.

4. to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.

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noun

1. a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.

riddle ¹ British  

/ ˈrɪdəl /

verb

1. (usually foll by with) to pierce or perforate with numerous holes

   riddled with bullets

2. to damage or impair

3. to put through a sieve; sift

4. to fill or pervade

   the report was riddled with errors

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noun

1. a sieve, esp a coarse one used for sand, grain, etc

riddle ² British  

/ ˈrɪdəl /

noun

1. a question, puzzle, or verse so phrased that ingenuity is required for elucidation of the answer or meaning; conundrum

2. a person or thing that puzzles, perplexes, or confuses; enigma

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verb

1. to solve, explain, or interpret (a riddle or riddles)

2. (intr) to speak in riddles

Synonym Usage

See puzzle.

Other Word Forms

• riddler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of riddle¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun redel, redels, Old English rǣdels(e) “counsel, opinion, imagination, riddle” + -els(e) noun suffix; cognate with German Rätsel, Dutch raadsel; see also rede

Origin of riddle²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English noun riddil, Old English hriddel, variant of hridder, hrīder; cognate with German Reiter; akin to Latin crībrum “sieve”; verb derivative of the noun

Explanation

What's a question or problem that requires a bit of thought before you answer? It's a riddle, of course. The verb riddle can mean to speak in a puzzling fashion, though that use is not very common. The word riddle might put you in mind of such brain-teasers as "Why did the chicken cross the road?", but riddles actually have a distinguished history in English literature going back to the 10th century. Today, you often find riddle used to mean a hard problem or question to figure out. Is it a riddle to you why you have to go to school? In an unrelated use, if something is riddled with holes, there are many holes in it, quite possibly from bullets!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

riddle riddled riddling

The riddle of Bell Labs—indeed, the great mystery of innovation itself—is how, over many decades, its employees came up with ideas and products that ultimately changed the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

A 48-46 defeat, settled by a France penalty with the clock in the red, only adds to the riddle.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

But the cyclops can’t solve the simplest of riddles and the increasingly exasperated maidens, who’ll be free once a riddle is solved, can’t get them to stop approaching the cave or from making terrible guesses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026

John Parker believes he has solved the riddle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

"Try your luck! Step right up! Answer a simple riddle and win a wind-flower!"

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Arsenal's close season was one characterised by some unquestionable successes, but also riddled by difficulties and frustration.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

And being riddled with all the cliched insecurities that every other actor, when you’re playing it, you go, “God, this feels great. To not even have to try with people must be so wonderful.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

When the second-largest U.S. bank discloses its quarterly financial results, analysts have to decipher the lexicon of CEO Brian Moynihan, riddled with obscure, archaic words like “gainsay,” “concomitant” and “fantods.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

SpaceX’s route to achieving its grand connectivity vision for Starlink is riddled with multibillion-dollar problems and would require decades’ worth of catching up, according to MoffettNathanson analysts.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Some feeling has returned to my leg, but my arms are still riddled with spasms.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

A.I. will never pose a threat to the real thing — to writing with convictions, honest doubts, riddling wit, a personal vision of the world, rawness and originality.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

“Lou Grant” went on like that for five years, riddling the moral dramas of imperfect humans trying to do good work when their only tool was a sledgehammer.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 31, 2021

Gaffney’s focus on human/equine body language is fascinating, especially in the way it helps her discern the weaknesses riddling some of the hard cases she’s dealing with.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2020

He also served as a source for my notorious 1993 article “The Death of Proof,” which reported that “the doubts riddling modern human thought have finally infected mathematics.”

From Scientific American ● Sep. 15, 2019

‘We have a work to do, and this is no time or place for riddling or parleying. Come! Where is the third of your company?’

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• complexity
• conundrum
• dilemma
• enigma
• mystery
• puzzle
• quandary
• teaser