riddle: Meaning and Definition of

rid•dle

Pronunciation: (rid'l), [key]
— n., v., -dled, -dling.
—n.
  1. a question or statement so framed as to exercise one's ingenuity in answering it or discovering its meaning; conundrum.
  2. a puzzling question, problem, or matter.
  3. a puzzling thing or person.
  4. any enigmatic or dark saying or speech.
—v.i.
  1. to propound riddles; speak enigmatically.

rid•dle

Pronunciation: (rid'l), [key]
— v., n. -dled, -dling,
—v.t.
  1. to pierce with many holes, suggesting those of a sieve: to riddle the target.
  2. to fill or affect with (something undesirable, weakening, etc.): a government riddled with graft.
  3. to impair or refute completely by persistent verbal attacks: to riddle a person's reputation.
  4. to sift through a riddle, as gravel; screen.
—n.
  1. a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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