puzzle
/ˈpʌzl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpʌzl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpə-zəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈpʌz.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpʌz.əl/ (ame, ipa)
puzzle — 名詞
1. A baffling event or situation that seems to have no clear explanation and is har
謎團
難理解的事
A baffling event or situation that seems to have no clear explanation and is hard to make sense of.
The ancient stone carvings are a puzzle that archaeologists have debated for decades.
那些古代石刻是個謎團，考古學家已經為此辯論了幾十年。
pattern: be a puzzle + relative clause
Why the factory closed when business was good remains a puzzle for the whole town.
工廠生意興隆卻關閉了，這對整個小鎮來說仍是個謎。
pattern: why-clause + remains a puzzle
The puzzle of how birds navigate across oceans fascinates many biologists.
鳥類如何橫越海洋導航的謎團，讓許多生物學家著迷。
No one has solved the puzzle of why that ancient city was suddenly abandoned.
那座古城為何突然被遺棄，至今沒有人解開這個謎團。
The missing ring was a puzzle until Mayumi found it under the sofa cushion.
戒指不見了真是個謎，後來 Mayumi 在沙發墊子下找到了。
- mystery
more emotional — suggests something secret or unknown that fascinates people; 'puzzle' is more about logic and explanation
- enigma
more formal and literary; suggests something mysterious on a deeper, almost philosophical level
- conundrum
often used for a tricky question or problem, sometimes with a touch of humour
文法句型
be a puzzle to + noun phrase
the puzzle of + wh-clause
用法筆記
Often appears in the patterns 'be a puzzle to [someone]' or 'the puzzle of [question]'. This sense is always countable and usually refers to a single baffling matter.
常見錯誤
2. An activity for fun in which you assemble separate pieces to form a complete pic
拼圖
拼合零件的遊戲
An activity for fun in which you assemble separate pieces to form a complete picture or shape, such as a jigsaw or a block puzzle.
Gita spent the whole rainy afternoon putting together a 500-piece puzzle of a mountain lake.
Gita 花了整個下雨的午後，拼一幅五百片的高山湖泊拼圖。
collocation: putting together a puzzle
The wooden puzzle has twelve interlocking pieces that form a perfect cube when assembled.
這個木製拼圖有十二個互相嵌合的零件，組合後會形成一個完美的立方體。
describing a non-picture puzzle
My grandmother does crosswords and jigsaw puzzles to keep her mind sharp.
我祖母常玩填字遊戲和拼圖，讓頭腦保持靈活。
Chiara found the last puzzle piece under the rug after searching the whole room.
Chiara 找遍了整個房間，最後在地毯下找到了最後一片拼圖。
The tangram puzzle contained seven flat tiles that could be arranged into many different shapes.
這個七巧板有七片扁平板，可以拼成許多不同的形狀。
- jigsaw
specifically refers to a picture cut into interlocking pieces; the most common subtype of this sense
- brainteaser
overlaps with sense 3; focuses on a mental challenge rather than physical assembly
文法句型
jigsaw puzzle
crossword puzzle
puzzle piece
do a puzzle
solve a puzzle
用法筆記
The most common type is a 'jigsaw puzzle'. This sense also covers other assembly games such as Rubik's-style cubes, tangrams, and interlocking-block puzzles.
常見錯誤
3. A question or problem designed to test a person's knowledge, skill, or logical t
謎題
考驗智力或知識的題目
A question or problem designed to test a person's knowledge, skill, or logical thinking.
The logic puzzle asked students to find the missing number in a long sequence.
這道邏輯謎題要求學生在一個長數列中找出缺少的數字。
collocation: logic puzzle
Sunday newspapers in Taipei often include a crossword puzzle and sudoku on one page.
台北的週日報紙通常在同一版上刊登填字遊戲和數獨。
collocation: crossword puzzle
Kevin solved the riddle quickly — it was the easiest puzzle in the book.
Kevin 很快就解開了那個謎語——那是書中最簡單的謎題。
The puzzle book contains over a hundred riddles and number games for travellers.
這本謎題書收錄了上百道謎語和數字遊戲，很適合旅行時玩。
Wei enjoys the daily word puzzle in the app because it teaches new vocabulary.
Wei 很喜歡那個應用程式裡的每日單字謎題，因為可以學新詞彙。
- riddle
a specific type of puzzle that uses wordplay or a tricky question; often has a clever or surprising answer
- brainteaser
informal; a puzzle that requires creative or lateral thinking rather than knowledge
文法句型
logic puzzle
word puzzle
crossword puzzle
puzzle book
用法筆記
This sense differs from sense 2 because the 'puzzle' here is a mental exercise (a question to answer), not a physical object to assemble. Crosswords and sudoku belong here; jigsaws belong to sense 2.
常見錯誤
puzzle — 動詞
1. To leave a person uncertain about what is happening, because events seem to lack
使困惑
讓人無法理解
To leave a person uncertain about what is happening, because events seem to lack any logical reason.
The sudden change in the contract terms puzzled the lawyers who drafted it.
合約條款的突然變動讓起草合約的律師們感到困惑。
pattern: subject (situation) + puzzled + person
It puzzled Wei that his best friend did not return his calls after the argument.
最好的朋友在爭吵後不回他電話，這讓 Wei 感到困惑。
pattern: it puzzles [person] that-clause
The tourists were puzzled by the handwritten sign and asked a local for help.
那些觀光客被手寫的告示牌弄糊塗了，只好向當地人求助。
The results of the experiment puzzled the team because they contradicted the main theory.
實驗結果與主要理論相矛盾，讓研究團隊感到很困惑。
It puzzled Anjali that her neighbour never seemed to sleep through the night.
鄰居似乎整晚都不睡覺，這讓 Anjali 感到非常困惑。
- baffle
stronger than 'puzzle' — suggests complete inability to understand, often with frustration
- perplex
slightly more formal; suggests a state of anxious uncertainty rather than mere confusion
- confuse
broader and more common; can be temporary or about simple things, while 'puzzle' implies sustained difficulty
文法句型
puzzle + noun phrase
it puzzles + noun phrase + that-clause
be puzzled by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive voice ('be puzzled by/at'). The active form usually has a situation, event, or piece of behaviour as the subject — not a person. To describe a person who causes confusion, use 'confuse' or 'baffle' instead.
常見錯誤
2. To think hard about a problem or situation, trying to find an answer through car
思索
仔細思考以找出答案
To think hard about a problem or situation, trying to find an answer through careful reasoning.
Chidi puzzled over the math problem for an hour before finding the answer.
Chidi 為那道數學題思索了一個小時才找到答案。
pattern: puzzle over + topic
The detectives are puzzling about how the thief got past the locks and the alarms.
偵探們正在思索小偷是怎麼通過門鎖和警報系統的。
pattern: puzzle about + wh-clause
Ari puzzled out the meaning of the old letter with help from his grandmother.
Ari 在祖母的幫助下，推敲出了那封舊信的含義。
Noor puzzled for days over the final clue in the competition.
Noor 為比賽的最後一條線索思索了好幾天。
The team spent the meeting puzzling through ways to cut costs without losing staff.
團隊開會思索如何在不解僱員工的情況下節省開支。
- ponder
suggests slow, careful, sometimes deep thought; less urgent than 'puzzle over'
- figure out
more informal and goal-oriented — you figure out the answer, whereas you puzzle over the problem
- ignore
to deliberately pay no attention to a problem rather than thinking about it
文法句型
puzzle over + noun phrase
puzzle about + noun phrase
puzzle + noun phrase + out
用法筆記
This is an intransitive or phrasal sense, used with 'puzzle over', 'puzzle about', or 'puzzle out'. The separable phrasal verb 'puzzle out' means 'to figure out through careful thought'.