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

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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

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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 fundamental problem exposed by the latest court fight is that no one has a solution to the riddle of apportionment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

It’s the riddle of how to divide up the ever-dwindling supply of water from the Colorado River.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

When the anonymous clues take a spooky turn, Felix calls on an unlikely ally to help him solve the final riddle and bring the scavenger hunt to a close.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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

We’d squirm and giggle with joy and excitement every time a new riddle featured one of us.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Software engineer Simon Martin, 44, who lives in Ancoats, recounted how a cab driver told him he would have hesitated once to pick him up, when the area was riddled with crime.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Giles Mason, who runs the Take 5 to Stop Fraud campaign at UK Finance which represents the banking and finance industry, said scam emails used to be "riddled with spelling mistakes, poor grammar".

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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

Years of drinking contaminated water had left Mawien Dut’s entire digestive system riddled with guinea worms.

From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park

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

Rebranded as Súil, a Gaelic word meaning “hope,” the sparkling viognier is still made by hand through riddling, disgorging and recorking, and in limited quantities.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2021

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

“A Place to Lie Down and Sleep” presents the most riddling scenario.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2017

This riddling figure with flinty eyes isn’t the Locke who stood on the rooftop of his estate and spoke so gently to me or who chased me, laughing, through its halls.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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Related Words

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

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