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
Raeleah Heusner, a sophomore, puzzles over a small copy of Abraham Lincoln's speeches.
—
Cory Turner, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Astronomers have long puzzled over the apparent lack of luminous red supergiant stars in pre-explosion images, even though models predict that these stars should dominate the population of core-collapse supernova progenitors.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025
For years, investigators puzzled over how the couple and their children could vanish entirely.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2025
At four remote sites near Saudi Arabia’s Nefud Desert, researchers are puzzling over 130 life-sized animal images emblazoned on rocky outcrops.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puzzle over
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cory Turner, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Astronomers have long puzzled over the apparent lack of luminous red supergiant stars in pre-explosion images, even though models predict that these stars should dominate the population of core-collapse supernova progenitors.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025
For years, investigators puzzled over how the couple and their children could vanish entirely.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2025
At four remote sites near Saudi Arabia’s Nefud Desert, researchers are puzzling over 130 life-sized animal images emblazoned on rocky outcrops.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puzzle over
Cite this Entry
“Puzzle over.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puzzle%20over. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share