Andy Logan
Did you know?
When it comes to the origins of flummox, etymologists are, well, flummoxed. No one really knows where the word comes from. The first known print use of the verb flummox appeared in Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers in the mid-1830s, while the adjective flummoxed appeared italicized a few years earlier in a Dublin newspaper article about laborers striking against employers who oppose their rights: “Lord Cloncurry is actually flummoxed. The people refuse to work for him.” To be flummoxed by something is to be utterly confused by it—that is, to be baffled, puzzled, bewildered, completely unable to understand. Fortunately, a word can be used even if everyone is flummoxed by its etymology, and by the end of the 19th century, flummox had become quite common in both British and American English.
Examples of flummox in a Sentence
Daniel Popper, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive unit flummoxed a 49ers offense that had been the NFL’s most potent since Brock Purdy returned from an injury in Week 11.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
Coach Mike Macdonald's defensive unit flummoxed a 49ers offense that had been the NFL's most potent since Brock Purdy returned from an injury in Week 11.
—CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
The two years of tangled litigation that has followed flummoxed those who know Uhlfelder best.
—Dan Sullivan, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flummox
Cite this Entry
“Flummox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flummox. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flummox
verb
