puzzle over

phrasal verb

puzzled over; puzzling over; puzzles over

: to think or worry for a long time about (something)

He's been puzzling over what went wrong.

Examples of puzzle over in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For a century, physiologists have puzzled over how the body coordinates the switch between storage and release. —Emily Underwood, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 June 2024

While predictions about the possibility of this particular effect date back to 2011, theorists are still puzzling over the new discovery. —Daniel Garisto, Quanta Magazine, 29 May 2024

But the people with the power to free him keep puzzling over his crimes, demanding explanations, psychological insight, the thinnest ray of sunlight on his motivations. —Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024

The episode prompted angst inside NBC News, where journalists and producers on Wednesday were still puzzling over their bosses’ handling of the situation, according to several people who requested anonymity to discuss private discussions. —John Koblin, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024

An Ergonomics Expert Offers Advice Similar to a century ago, today’s evolutionary biologists continue to puzzle over human upright posture. —Beth Linker, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024

Scientists are puzzled over what's causing hundreds of fish to wash up dead in South Florida, including an endangered species native to the region. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 29 Mar. 2024

Many are left to puzzle over what Gaetz’s ultimate political objective is, beyond self-serving anarchy. —Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024

For the better part of four months, NASA scientists in Houston puzzled over an infuriating conundrum. —Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024