1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

puzzling (out)

verb

Definition of puzzling (out)next
present participle of puzzle (out)
as in solving
to find an answer for through reasoning I was able to puzzle out the riddle in a fairly short time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puzzling (out)
  1. solving
  2. unraveling
  3. answering
  4. figuring out
  5. working out
Verb
  • But turning every food in the kitchen into a protein delivery system isn’t solving the bigger gaps in most American diets.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Unveiling the Unknown Wanderer The key to solving the mystery of Betkouski’s identity turned out to be an actual key.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of solving
Verb
  • The episode became a turning point, unraveling diplomacy that had largely preserved the informal truce and halted Houthi attacks on Saudi territory.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Metalpoint is delicate by comparison with ink, almost weblike; but in both cases, the drawings are unraveling clusters and skeins, with passages both tight and loose.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of unraveling
Verb
  • My first Herald job was answering phones and writing a local bowling column.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The assistant was answering with a straight face using data that was already hours stale.
    — Amirtha Saminathan, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of answering
Verb
  • Of course, figuring out an email address isn’t particularly difficult.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • For a Miami business hiring its first employee in Bogota or Mexico City, that structure can remove most of the legal exposure that would otherwise come with figuring out a foreign country’s employment law from scratch.
    — Ethan Stone, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of figuring out
Verb
  • This time, Miles Teller plays the father, an out-of-work engineer who is convinced by his ex-cop brother (Adam Driver) to go into business with a group of Russian importers working out of Gowanus.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Bodine is expected to work with the Rays through Sunday, then next week join a group of 25-30 minor-leaguers working out in Port Charlotte to be available if needed.
    — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of working out
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.

Browse Nearby Words

puzzling
puzzling (out)
pygmies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Puzzling (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puzzling%20%28out%29. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All