Definition

1. Noun:

   • A game or toy that tests your ingenuity or knowledge: A "puzzle" is a problem or game designed to challenge a person's thinking, often requiring logic, pattern recognition, or creativity to solve.
   • A confusing or baffling problem or situation: A "puzzle" can also refer to any complex or perplexing issue that is difficult to understand or resolve.

2. Verb:

   • To cause someone to feel confused or uncertain: To "puzzle" someone is to make them think hard because they cannot easily understand something.
   • To think deeply about something confusing: To "puzzle" over something is to try to understand or solve a difficult problem by thinking about it carefully.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • She spent the afternoon solving a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle.
  • The reason for his sudden resignation remains a puzzle to everyone.
• Verb:
  • His strange behavior puzzled his friends.
  • Scientists are puzzling over the unexpected results of the experiment.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in a puzzle": To be in a state of confusion or uncertainty.
  • I'm in a puzzle about what to do next.
• "A puzzling situation": A situation that is confusing and difficult to explain (Note: "puzzling" is the adjective form).
  • The disappearance of the documents created a puzzling situation for the investigators.

Variants and Related Words

• Puzzler (n): A particularly difficult puzzle or problem.
  • The final question in the quiz was a real puzzler.
• Puzzling (adj): Causing confusion; difficult to understand.
  • We received a puzzling message with no clear instructions.
• Puzzlement (n): A state of confusion or bewilderment.
  • His announcement was met with puzzlement by the audience.

Synonyms

• Noun: Enigma, riddle, conundrum, mystery, brain-teaser.
• Verb: Perplex, confuse, baffle, mystify, bewilder.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Puzzle out: To solve a confusing problem by thinking carefully.
  • It took me an hour to puzzle out the answer to the riddle.
• Puzzle over: To think deeply and for a long time about something confusing.
  • He puzzled over the ancient manuscript for weeks.

Related Idioms

• A piece of the puzzle: One part of a complex problem or situation that helps you understand the whole.
  • The new evidence provided a crucial piece of the puzzle.
• Puzzle one's brains: To think very hard about something.
  • I've been puzzling my brains all day, but I still can't remember his name.

Noun

1. a game that tests your ingenuity
2. a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
   • he loved to solve chessmate puzzles
   • that's a real puzzler

Verb

1. be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide
   • We puzzled over her sudden departure
2. be a mystery or bewildering to
   • This beats me!
   • Got me--I don't know the answer!
   • a vexing problem
   • This question really stuck me