maze

[ meyz ]

noun

1. a confusing network of intercommunicating paths or passages; labyrinth.
2. any complex system or arrangement that causes bewilderment, confusion, or perplexity:

   Her petition was lost in a maze of bureaucratic red tape.

3. a state of bewilderment or confusion.
4. a winding movement, as in dancing.

verb (used with object)

, mazed, maz·ing.

1. Chiefly Dialect. to daze, perplex, or stupefy.

maze

/ 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
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

1. an archaic or dialect word for amaze

Derived Forms

• ˈmazeˌlike, adjective
• ˈmazement, noun

Other Words From

• mazed·ly [meyzd, -lee, mey, -zid-], adverb
• mazedness noun
• mazelike adjective
• inter·maze verb (used with object) intermazed intermazing

Word History and Origins

Origin of maze¹

1250–1300; Middle English mase, noun use of aphetic variant of amasen to amaze

Word History and Origins

Origin of maze¹

C13: see amaze

Example Sentences

After a short walk through a maze of stalactites, Michael is lowered into the dark.

From BBC

Instead, “Stickerbush Symphony,” with its strangely melancholic New Age groove, accompanies a level in which the player navigates a fantastically cruel maze of spiky vines.

From New York Times

To the weekend visitor, our city can seem like a maze of twisting freeways and roads built for cars, walled off to pedestrians.

From Los Angeles Times

Lois Tryon led us through the show’s mind-freakery maze, avoiding the comments wasn’t a luxury.

From Salon

“In L.A., pumpkin patches are typically in parking lots. This one was on a beautiful apple orchard and they had pony rides and they had a corn maze.”

From Los Angeles Times