solve
Americanverb (used with object)
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solves,
present (3rd person singular)
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solved,
past participle, past
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solving
present participle
verb
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to find the explanation for or solution to (a mystery, problem, etc)
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maths
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to work out the answer to (a problem)
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to obtain the roots of (an equation)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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solvesimple
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solvessimple
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have solvedperfect
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has solvedperfect
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am solvingprogressive
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are solvingprogressive
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is solvingprogressive
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have been solvingperfect progressive
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has been solvingperfect progressive
Past
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solvedsimple
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had solvedperfect
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was solvingprogressive
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were solvingprogressive
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had been solvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solve
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English solven, from Latin solvere “to loosen, free, release”
Explanation
To solve something is to find a solution, like figuring out the answer to a complex riddle. The verb solve is often used in mathematics, and it means to answer a math problem. You can solve other, non-mathematical problems too — like the question of what to wear when you've run out of clean clothes (your sibling's clothes!). The word solve originally came from the Latin solvere, which meant "to loosen or untie." If you think of any kind of complex problem as a knot, then the original definition of solve still makes sense!
Vocabulary lists containing solve
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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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:
Managers often fall into a sole-provider trap by jumping in to solve problems, which leaves them overburdened and employees waiting for input.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
She covered how such moves help families solve the childcare crisis, and how they affect the U.S. housing market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Because traditional, low-tech methods to crack ciphers are effective but time- and labour-intensive, historians "have more important problems to solve, so many ciphers like this often sit unattended", said Church.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
“He’s liberated from his own shyness when he’s trying to solve the puzzle,” Mitchell said recently over Zoom from London.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“A great many costumes went into this one costume,” she thought, pleased with both her disguise and the potential math lesson, but there was no time to solve the costume/costumes problem just now.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
That last one is how John solves the season’s overarching mystery, settling one of the story’s defining and tormented relationships into a peaceful place.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Taking regular meter readings, or having a smart meter, while paying by monthly direct debit solves that problem.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
“There is still a long journey until Ghana solves ASM challenges.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
The dishwasher camera tailors washes for optimal energy efficiency and finally solves the mystery of what goes on inside there during the cycle.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026
The theory neatly solves the grandfather paradox by positing separate universes in which each possible outcome exists, thereby avoiding a paradox.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
We haven’t solved every problem, nor can agency action substitute indefinitely for a statutory framework passed by Congress, but we must do what we can.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
This company says it has solved that problem.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Hunter Hunt, CEO of Hunt Energy Holdings, said he was confident that such "infrastructural weaknesses" could be solved "quite quickly."
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has largely dismissed calls for tighter AI regulations, arguing that rogue agents are an engineering problem that can be solved.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
"Some problems can't be solved with violence," I said.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Short of solving one problem, some have warned this state of emergency could lead to more challenges.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish possess some of the most sophisticated nervous systems in the animal kingdom, giving them remarkable abilities such as solving problems and rapidly changing their appearance to blend into their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
It concerns Gaussian elimination, a popular way of solving linear systems that you might remember from high school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“What’s clear is everyone wants a path to solving this crisis.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Okay. First. Do you consider the ideas and beliefs you’ve learned within your group are the way forward in solving the problems in the world?”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
