a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
something puzzling; a puzzling question, matter, or person.
a puzzled or perplexed condition; bewilderment.
a crossword puzzle: Did you do the puzzle in the newspaper today?
a jigsaw puzzle.
verb (used with object),puz·zled,puz·zling.
to put (someone) at a loss; mystify; confuse; baffle: Her attitude puzzles me.
to frustrate or confound, as the understanding; perplex: The problem puzzled him for weeks.
to exercise (oneself, one's brain, etc.) over some problem or matter.
Archaic. to make intricate or complicated.
verb (used without object),puz·zled,puz·zling.
to be perplexed or confused.
to ponder or study over some perplexing problem or matter.
Verb Phrases
puzzle out,to solve by careful study or effort: I was unable to puzzle out the message.
Origin of puzzle
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
SYNONYMS FOR puzzle
6 confound.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR puzzle ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for puzzle
2. Puzzle,riddle,enigma refer to something baffling or confusing that is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or problem, intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind; it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity: a crossword puzzle; The reason for their behavior remains a puzzle. A riddle is an intentionally obscure statement or question, the meaning of or answer to which is to be arrived at only by guessing: the famous riddle of the Sphinx.Enigma, originally meaning riddle, now refers to some baffling problem with connotations of mysteriousness: He will always be an enigma to me.
OTHER WORDS FROM puzzle
puz·zled·ly,adverbpuz·zled·ness,nounun·puz·zle,verb (used with object),un·puz·zled,un·puz·zling.
Words nearby puzzle
Puy-de-Dôme, Puy de Sancy, Pu-yi, puy lentil, Puzo, puzzle, puzzle box, puzzleheaded, puzzle jug, puzzlement, puzzle out
Rereading is like looking at the answer to a puzzle, rather than doing it yourself, he says.
Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer|Kathiann Kowalski|September 9, 2020|Science News For Students
This cocktail hour interactive exhibition changes each year, but last year it involved attendees competing against one another in a cookie-cutter-themed puzzle challenge designed by artist Zak Kitnick.
How nonprofits are catering to millennials and rethinking the charity gala for younger generations|Rachel King|September 7, 2020|Fortune
At first, chronicling daily symptoms was like starting a brand-new puzzle.
Everything You Need to Know About Period Tracking|Christine Yu|September 6, 2020|Outside Online
He’s given us something to contemplate, a puzzle we must return to more than once to begin to apprehend.
The ancient palindrome that explains Christopher Nolan’s Tenet|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
While that was the intent of the puzzle, it wasn’t explicitly stated.
Can You Reach The Beach?|Zach Wissner-Gross|August 7, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
For passengers, beyond the statistics lies a puzzle that has persisted for years.
Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room|Clive Irving|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Without access to the site, reporters, social media, and governments put together pieces of the puzzle.
MH17 Is the World’s First Open-Source Air Crash Investigation|Clive Irving|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But just picture a puzzle on the ground; say a puzzle of the Trade Center.
Is Synthetic Weed Feuling Yemen’s Terrorism?|Abby Haglage|May 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Police say that the final pieces of the puzzle were put together in the second week of March.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building|Michael Daly|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Schindler said this has been a puzzle for the U.S. intelligence community since the days of the cold war.
Ex- CIA Chief: Why We Keep Getting Putin Wrong|Eli Lake, Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey|March 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Was this the deeper harder secret that Elsa sought to probe, this the puzzle to which she asked an answer?
The King's Mirror|Anthony Hope
Dr. Miller's brows were knit as he tried to puzzle out what had happened.
The Blue Ghost Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
After all, it is the ground birds that puzzle the human ologist.
A Rambler's lease|Bradford Torrey
Charley remembered something about a molecular lattice, but it didn't make any sense to him, and was only a puzzle.
Charley de Milo|Laurence Mark Janifer AKA Larry M. Harris
"You puzzle me utterly," he said, sitting up closer and staring at him.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
British Dictionary definitions for puzzle
puzzle
/ (ˈpʌzəl) /
verb
to perplex or be perplexed
(intr foll by over) to attempt the solution (of); ponder (about)he puzzled over her absence
(tr usually foll by out) to solve by mental efforthe puzzled out the meaning of the inscription
noun
a person or thing that puzzles
a problem that cannot be easily or readily solved
the state or condition of being puzzled
a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solutionSee jigsaw puzzle, Chinese puzzle
Learn The History Of The New York Times Crossword PuzzleThere are plenty of crossword puzzles in publications across the country, but when we think of the pinnacle of puzzledom (Not officially a word, but, perhaps, it should be?), the purveyors of the most preeminent puzzles, we bow to The New York Times (NYT). But how did it all begin?