sudoku

American  

[soo-doh-koo] / sʊˈdoʊ ku /

noun

1. a puzzle printed on a square grid of nine large squares each subdivided into nine smaller squares, the object of which is to fill in each of the 81 squares so that each column, row, and large square contains every number from 1 to 9.

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sudoku British  

/ səˈdəʊkuː /

noun

1. a type of puzzle in which numbers must be arranɡed within a ɡrid contaninɡ several internal squares so that no number is repeated in the same row, column, or internal square

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Etymology

Origin of sudoku

2000–05; < Japanese sū- (< sūji number) + -doku (< dokushin being single)

Explanation

Sudoku is a popular number placement puzzle. Many newspapers print a sudoku each day, often next to the crossword. The word sudoku is Japanese for “single numbers.” A sudoku consists of a grid of 81 boxes, each of which is either blank or contains a single number. The trick is to write numbers in the blank boxes so that every digit from one to nine appears just once in each horizontal and vertical line. The origin is Japanese — sūdoku combines sū(ji), "number," and doku(shin), "single status." The game's original name was sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru, "the numbers are restricted to single status." Not quite as catchy.

Example Sentences

Cheung compares the bootstrap approach to solving a sudoku puzzle.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

Waiting for a concert to begin, she’ll chip away at crosswords, sudoku grids and the New York Times' Spelling Bee to keep her nerves at bay.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024

After a gymnast friend put him on to "killer sudoku," Nedoroscik became the 43rd person in the world to solve a sudoku puzzle that claimed to be the "world's hardest."

From Salon • Jul. 31, 2024

For her, it’s doing number puzzles like sudoku.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2024

It had reminded Candice of sudoku, a puzzle game her grandmother had first introduced her to.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson