puzzle over

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

Symmetries Over Substance Since the 1960s, physicists had been puzzling over a common property of metals. — Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026

Breeders selecting for aroma formulators trying to replicate a strain’s signature profile, and product developers puzzling over why two batches of the same cultivar smell different, were all missing a variable nobody knew existed. — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Nearly a week after being rescued near Big Bear Lake, Jackie — half of a celebrity bald eagle couple — remains in critical condition as veterinarians continue to puzzle over the cause of her maladies. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Economists have long puzzled over how China has managed such rapid, sustained growth despite endemic corruption that has sunk the prospects of many other developing economies. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 14 July 2026

Rhymes for puzzle over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover