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
Many writers have puzzled over the question of how to understand the relationship between Christian anti-Judaism and modern nationalist anti-Semitism; given his inclination to resist eternalist interpretations, Mazower emphasizes them as separate phenomena.
—
Daniel May, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Scientists are still puzzling over why the bumblebee catfish attempted the steep climb, though the leading theory points to upstream migration for reproduction.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2025
Experts puzzled over grant delays Though the grant cycles for colleges' CCAMPIS programs differ, the funding at many schools will dry up in September.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Why the untelegenic Sullivan succeeded in television is a question McLuhanite media scholars have long puzzled over.
—Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puzzle over
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Daniel May, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Scientists are still puzzling over why the bumblebee catfish attempted the steep climb, though the leading theory points to upstream migration for reproduction.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2025
Experts puzzled over grant delays Though the grant cycles for colleges' CCAMPIS programs differ, the funding at many schools will dry up in September.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Why the untelegenic Sullivan succeeded in television is a question McLuhanite media scholars have long puzzled over.
—Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 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 9 Sep. 2025.
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