baffle
baffle Lexical Profile
baffle Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To totally bewilder, perplex, or confuse someone.
"The sudden disappearance of the ancient civilization continues to baffle historians."
To restrain, deflect, or regulate the flow or passage of a fluid, gas, or sound.
"Interior partitions were engineered to baffle the rush of water inside the fuel tank."
• noun
A device, such as a plate, wall, or screen, used to restrain or regulate the flow of a fluid, gas, light, or sound.
"The recording studio installed acoustic baffles along the ceiling to prevent unwanted echoes."
• Rhymes for baffle
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the mid-16th century, probably from Scots bauchle ('to disgrace publicly'), possibly related to French bafouer ('to mock or ridicule'). It originally referred to a formal punishment in which a perjured knight was publicly disgraced before evolving to mean 'to foil or perplex'.