How to Use puzzle in a Sentence

puzzle

1 of 2 verb
  • The cause of the accident has puzzled investigators.
  • The panic around him, frankly, has been puzzling.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025
  • This gap has puzzled researchers for years.
    — Rhonda Winegar, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The poor rott just stood there with its tail tucked between its legs, puzzled.
    — Andrew Norman Wilson, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Wenhardt stared at his pages, puzzled.
    — Jane Bua, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Adding Slater was a slightly puzzling move as is.
    — Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
  • At first, Gulati was puzzled by the idea.
    — Neha Bhatt, NPR, 13 June 2026
  • Hand out this brain teaser for guests to puzzle over before the kick off.
    — Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, 4 Feb. 2023
  • Use slow-feed bowls or puzzle toys that require them to eat slowly.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Tim Ream is looking at you, puzzled.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2026
  • The scenes puzzled observers abroad.
    — Helena Carpio, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Why a complete and puzzling change in my lifelong habits?
    — Dr. C. E. Kuschel, Outdoor Life, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The Uber driver watched, puzzled, as tears poured down her face.
    — Charlotte Kramon, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023
  • Two experts said they were puzzled by the release records.
    — Evan Bush, NBC news, 30 May 2026
  • Dyer seemed puzzled that so many thought the house would face the wrecking ball.
    — Camila Gomez, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Her views, expressed online, were puzzling to me at first.
    — Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Still, experts are puzzled as to how the disease could have spread on the cruise ship.
    — Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
  • Like his wife, Moore was puzzled when their friend didn’t show up to eat dinner.
    — Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Juarez was overwhelmed and a bit puzzled by some of the responses.
    — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The cosmos is full of puzzling objects such as starless worlds that come in pairs.
    — Charlie Wood, WIRED, 31 Dec. 2023
  • By the end of the second day, Cormican was puzzled.
    — Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
  • What's puzzling is why so many of us choose to seek out painful experiences.
    — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
  • He was puzzled by friends who bought band T-shirts and obsessed over concerts.
    — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Bull has seen people work through dreams that had puzzled them in the container of the labyrinth.
    — Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
  • The ways of the whites puzzled the Indians.
    — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • Indeed, this key detail has puzzled music fans for decades.
    — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Trump’s suspicions are more than just puzzling, Beach said.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Mark stared at me, thoroughly puzzled.
    — CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Fans who commented on Nicks’ post are puzzled.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Some voters seemed puzzled, even frustrated, about the road ahead.
    — Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, ABC News, 13 Nov. 2023

puzzle

2 of 2 noun
  • There are many puzzles that hint at this.
    — Big Think, 19 Mar. 2026
  • My niece likes puzzles more than art.
    — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • New cores are just part of the puzzle, though.
    — Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Lebanon is a key piece of that puzzle, too.
    — Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
  • All the parts made sense, all the pieces to the puzzle made sense.
    — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The new research fills in a key piece of that puzzle.
    — Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Our daily word puzzle with a plot twist.
    — Austin Carr, Bloomberg, 21 Apr. 2026
  • This was their cue to keep working on the puzzle in a dream.
    — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 26 Feb. 2026
  • But like any good show, solving the puzzle isn’t the point.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Like a puzzle, the city has acquired key pieces in the last few years.
    — Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2024
  • The puzzle isn’t fully solved yet, though.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The second big clue in this puzzle are the three 0 tiles.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Second, the shape of the puzzle.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • All puzzles are free to exchange.
    — Sarah Z. Sleeper, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2026
  • He was supposed to be just one part of a remade puzzle.
    — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • There’s not a single F in the puzzle.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • This research is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
    — Paul Sutter, Space.com, 11 Feb. 2026
  • The puzzle queens will inspire me to calm down and focus.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 12 May 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone.
    — Mark Cooper, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puzzle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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