A maze is a complex system of passages or paths between walls or hedges and is designed to confuse people who try to find their way through it, often as a form of amusement.
The palace has extensive gardens, a maze, and tennis courts.
2. countable noun
A mazeof streets, rooms, or tunnels is a large number of them that are connected in a complicated way, so that it is difficult to find your way through them.
The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. [+ of]
...a maze of dimly-lighted, brown-carpeted corridors.
3. countable noun
You can refer to a set of ideas, topics, or rules as a maze when a large number of them are related to each other in a complicated way that makesthem difficult to understand.
The book tries to steer you through the maze of alternative therapies. [+ of]
...the maze of rules and regulations.
Synonyms: web, puzzle, confusion, tangle More Synonyms of maze
maze in British English
(meɪz)
noun
1.
a complex network of paths or passages, esp one with high hedges in a garden, designed to puzzle those walking through it
Compare labyrinth (sense 1)
2.
a similar system represented diagrammatically as a pattern of lines
3.
any confusing network of streets, pathways, etc
a maze of paths
4.
a state of confusion
verb
5. an archaic or dialect word for amaze
Derived forms
mazelike (ˈmazeˌlike)
adjective
mazement (ˈmazement)
noun
Word origin
C13: see amaze
maze in American English
(meɪz)
verb transitiveWord forms: mazed or ˈmazing Chiefly Dialectal
1.
to stupefy; daze
2.
to confuse; bewilder
noun
3.
a confusing, intricate network of winding pathways; labyrinth; specif., such a network with one or more blind alleys, used in psychological experiments and tests
4.
a state of confusion or bewilderment
Word origin
ME masen, to confuse, puzzle, aphetic for OE amasian: see amaze
Examples of 'maze' in a sentence
maze
The grounds around the house are a maze of shelters and sandbags.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Its pedestrianised maze of streets are full of boutique style shops.
The Sun (2010)
But the moral maze is not quite as murky as it should be.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They also told him to leave a corridor through the maze of tables for hapless pedestrians.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
We were led into the maze of alleyways.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Explore tropical moths and butterflies in the giant maze and butterfly house.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
And here lies a further twist in the moral maze.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It's a maze of cobbled streets with so much to explore.
The Sun (2008)
The system sent staff to the wrong places and many were unable to find the correct loading bays via the maze of corridors.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It's a maze of houses jutting out of the rock face.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Oh, do you still need to know the moral of this moral maze?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Most people know about the maze and gardens, but far fewer know that you can stay overnight.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Perhaps the cluttered and increasingly confusing maze of the hang is meant to evoke the complexities of Wonderland.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Only by crossing the short bridge can you take in its natural grandeur and the maze of streets that make up the medieval town.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It will also provide family trees on its website so that listeners are not left behind by the confusing maze of Russian characters.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This maze of alleyways and compounds is grimly familiar to British veterans of Sangin.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
At parties, it is like being in a maze: one constantly has to jump in the air in the hope of seeing a way out.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
maze
British English: maze /meɪz/ NOUN
A maze is a complex system of passages or paths separated by walls or hedges.
The palace has large gardens, a maze, and tennis courts.
American English: maze
Arabic: مَتَاهَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: labirinto
Chinese: 迷宫
Croatian: labirint
Czech: bludiště
Danish: labyrint
Dutch: doolhof
European Spanish: laberinto
Finnish: sokkelo
French: labyrinthe
German: Irrgarten
Greek: λαβύρινθος
Italian: labirinto
Japanese: 迷路
Korean: 미로
Norwegian: labyrint
Polish: labirynt
European Portuguese: labirinto
Romanian: labirint
Russian: лабиринт
Latin American Spanish: laberinto
Swedish: labyrint
Thai: ทางวกวน
Turkish: labirent
Ukrainian: лабіринт
Vietnamese: mê cung
Chinese translation of 'maze'
maze
(meɪz)
n(c)
(= puzzle) 迷宫(宮) (mígōng) (个(個), gè)
maze of streets/corridors迷宫(宮)似的街道/走廊 (mígōng shìde jiēdào/zǒuláng)
maze of rules/jargon错(錯)综(綜)复(複)杂(雜)的规(規)则(則)/术(術)语(語) (cuòzōng fùzá de guīzé/shùyǔ)
(noun)
Definition
any confusing network or system
the maze of rules and regulationsa maze of dimly-lit corridors
Synonyms
web
a complex web of financial dealings
puzzle
a word puzzle
confusion
tangle
I was thinking what a tangle we had got ourselves into.
snarl
a snarl of logs and branches
mesh
They led the criminals into their mesh.
labyrinth
a labyrinth of conflicting political interpretations
imbroglio
convolutions
complex network
meander
intricacy
perplexity
the perplexities of quantum mechanics
Additional synonyms
in the sense of labyrinth
Definition
any complex or confusing system
a labyrinth of conflicting political interpretations
Synonyms
intricacy,
puzzle,
complexity,
riddle,
complication,
tangle,
maze,
entanglement,
perplexity,
convolution,
knotty problem
in the sense of mesh
Definition
anything that ensnares or holds like a net
They led the criminals into their mesh.
Synonyms
trap,
web,
tangle,
toils,
snare,
entanglement
in the sense of perplexity
Definition
something that perplexes
the perplexities of quantum mechanics
Synonyms
complexity,
difficulty,
mystery,
involvement,
puzzle,
paradox,
obscurity,
enigma,
intricacy,
inextricability
Synonyms of 'maze'
maze
Explore 'maze' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of puzzle
Definition
a toy, game, or question presenting a problem that requires skill or ingenuity for its solution
a word puzzle
Synonyms
problem,
riddle,
maze,
labyrinth,
question,
conundrum,
teaser,
poser,
brain-teaser (informal)
in the sense of snarl
a snarl of logs and branches
Synonyms
tangle,
mass,
twist,
web,
knot,
jungle,
mat,
coil,
mesh,
ravel,
entanglement
in the sense of tangle
Definition
a complicated problem or situation
I was thinking what a tangle we had got ourselves into.