puzzle

US: /ˈpəzəɫ/
UK: /pˈʌzə‍l/


English Vietnamese dictionary


puzzle /'pʌzl/
  • danh từ
    • sự bối rối, sự khó xử
    • vấn đề khó xử, vấn đề khó giải quyết, vấn đề nan giải
    • trò chơi đố; câu đố
      • a Chinese puzzle: câu đố rắc rối; vấn đề rắc rối khó giải quyết
  • ngoại động từ
    • làm bối rối, làm khó xử
      • to puzzle about (over) a problem: bối rối về một vấn đề, khó xử về một vấn đề
    • to puzzule out
      • giải đáp được (câu đố, bài toán hắc búa...)

Advanced English dictionary


noun, verb
+ noun
1 a game, etc. that you have to think about carefully in order to answer it or do it: a crossword puzzle + a book of puzzles for children
2 (especially AmE) = JIGSAW
3 [usually sing.] something that is difficult to understand or explain
Synonym: MYSTERY
The deeper meaning of the poem remains a puzzle. + The detectives were beginning to solve the murder. All the pieces in the puzzle were falling neatly into place.
+ verb [VN] to make sb feel confused because they do not understand sth: What puzzles me is why he left the country without telling anyone.
puzzling adjective: one of the most puzzling aspects of the crime
Phrasal Verbs: puzzle over / about sth to think hard about sth in order to understand or explain it: Karen puzzled over the question all evening.
puzzle sth<->out to find the answer to a difficult or confusing problem by thinking carefully: [+ wh-] He was trying to puzzle out why he had been brought to the house.

Thesaurus dictionary


v.
1 baffle, bewilder, confuse, confound, mystify, flummox, perplex, nonplus, stymie, stump:
I am completely puzzled by what you wrote in your last letter.
2 Usually, puzzle over. study, ponder (over), mull over, contemplate, meditate on or upon or over, consider, muse over or on, reflect on or over, think about or over or on:
If you puzzle over it long enough, the problem may vanish of its own accord
3 puzzle out. solve, decipher, crack (the code), unravel, work out, figure out, think through, sort out, unlock:
I finally puzzled out the inscription on this old coin. It might take a while, but I can puzzle out the solution to this crossword.
n.
4 enigma, problem, question, paradox, poser, mystery, riddle, conundrum, Colloq brain-teaser:
The puzzle is how the murder was committed when the door was locked from the inside.

Collocation dictionary


1 sth that is difficult to understand

ADJ.

great | perplexing | scientific, theoretical

VERB + PUZZLE

solve | remain
What happened to the ship remains a puzzle.

PUZZLE + VERB

remain
The puzzle remains of what happened to the ship.

PREP.

in a/the ~
They knew who the killer was, but there were still some gaps in the puzzle.
| ~ about
There is a puzzle about how the plant first came to Britain.
| ~ of
They're trying to solve the puzzle of how gravity works.

PHRASES

a bit/piece of the puzzle
Another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
| the key to a puzzle
Traces of explosives found among the wreckage were the key to the puzzle.
| a piece in the puzzle
The police didn't know what the message meant, but it was another piece in the puzzle.
| a solution to a puzzle, something of a puzzle
The origin of the word is something of a puzzle.

2 game that tests your skill, intelligence, etc.

ADJ.

crossword, jigsaw | number, picture, word | complicated

VERB + PUZZLE

do, solve

PUZZLE + NOUN

book


Concise English dictionary


puzzles|puzzled|puzzling'pʌzl
noun
+a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
+a toy that tests your ingenuity
verb
+be a mystery or bewildering to
+be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide