"riddle" Definition

Definitions for the word "riddle" from multiple English dictionaries.

1. n.
A sieve with coarse meshes, usually of wire, for separating coarser materials from finer, as chaff from grain, cinders from ashes, or gravel from sand.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
2. n.
A board having a row of pins, set zigzag, between which wire is drawn to straighten it.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
3. v. t.
To separate, as grain from the chaff, with a riddle; to pass through a riddle; as, riddle wheat; to riddle coal or gravel.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
4. v. t.
To perforate so as to make like a riddle; to make many holes in; as, a house riddled with shot.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
5. n.
Something proposed to be solved by guessing or conjecture; a puzzling question; an ambiguous proposition; an enigma; hence, anything ambiguous or puzzling.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
6. v. t.
To explain; to solve; to unriddle.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
7. v. i.
To speak ambiguously or enigmatically.
Source: The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
8. n.
1 verbal puzzle or test, often with a trick answer. 2 puzzling fact, thing, or person. v. (-ling) speak in riddles. [old english: related to *read]
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1884
9. v.
(-ling) (usu. Foll. By with) 1 make many holes in, esp. With gunshot. 2 (in passive) fill; permeate (riddled with errors). 3 pass through a riddle. n. Coarse sieve. [old english]
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1884

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Additional Info
This page provides a list of definitions and meanings for "riddle" from various historical English dictionaries. By displaying multiple definitions, you can compare and contrast different meanings and nuances of a word, phrase, or slang. You can also see the changes in meaning of "riddle" over time by viewing the definitions from different dictionaries published at different times in history. The page also includes other information to help users expand their vocabulary and understand the context of the word.

Important Notes
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