riddle
riddle Lexical Profile
riddle Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning, typically presented as a game.
"The ancient sphinx posed a clever riddle to every traveler who wished to pass."
A person, thing, or situation that is difficult to understand or explain; a complex mystery.
"How the ancient civilization transported those massive stone blocks remains a historical riddle."
A coarse-meshed sieve used to separate finer material from coarser material, such as soil, gravel, or ashes.
"The gardener used a wire riddle to remove stones from the compost before potting the seedlings."
• verb
To make many holes in something, or to permeate and spread throughout something undesirable (usually used in the passive with 'with').
"The initial draft of the financial report was riddled with calculation errors."
To speak in or pose riddles, or to solve and explain a riddle.
"He loved to riddle his grandchildren with clever wordplay during long car rides."
To pass material such as soil, gravel, or cinders through a coarse sieve.
"She spent the afternoon in the potting shed, riddling the topsoil to prepare the seedbeds."
• Rhymes for riddle
Word Origin & Etymology
The puzzle sense comes from Old English 'rǣdels' (counsel, opinion, or conjecture), related to the verb 'rǣdan' (to read or interpret). The sense meaning a coarse sieve or to pierce with holes derives from a separate Old English word, 'hriddel', from a Germanic root meaning to shake or sift.