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This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
verb (used with object), solved, solv·ing.
to find the answer or explanation for; clear up; explain: to solve the mystery of the missing books.
to work out the answer or solution to (a mathematical problem).
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Origin of solve
1400–50; late Middle English solven<Latin solvere to loosen, free, release, dissolve
OTHER WORDS FROM solve
solver, nounpre·solve, verb (used with object), pre·solved, pre·solv·ing.un·solved, adjectivewell-solved, adjective
Words nearby solve
solvable, solvate, solvation, Solvay, Solvay process, solve, solvency, solvent, solvent abuse, solvolysis, Solway Firth
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to solve
clarify, clear up, deal with, decide, determine, do, explain, figure out, fix, have, iron out, settle, work out, break, construe, crack, decipher, decode, disentangle, divine
How to use solve in a sentence
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We know more than ever about how students reason, process information and solve problems.
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I always think about what my favorite creators are building in their homes and what problems they are trying to solve.
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Whoever’s fault it is, we either all chip in to solve it or we all suffer.
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I was only looking for a generic term that helps me to solve my most immediate problem, which is to create a logo.
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She wants them to think about different ways to solve a problem.
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But one extra trick would instantly solve the problem of crashes that occur over water.
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This is the first study of its kind in Turkey and raises the possibility that a private solution could solve a public problem.
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To solve the problem, we need to study a lot more comets and meteorites.
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Is there anyone who thinks the urgent problem we need to solve in Washington, D.C. is how to allow more spending on campaigns?
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“I doubt you can solve range and the need for a large magazine with the same missile,” he said.
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To solve this one I stopped on the tavern steps, leaned against a pillar, and gazed through the dozing village.
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But, though a capital sabreur, he was evidently not made to solve questions in diplomacy.
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In the preceding chapter we have endeavoured to solve the question what are the qualities that constitute good tone.
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The meetings were held secretly behind closed doors because of the grave problems which the convention had to solve.
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To solve this problem, is to know the remedy; and to know it, is but necessary, in order successfully to apply it.
British Dictionary definitions for solve
verb (tr)
to find the explanation for or solution to (a mystery, problem, etc)
maths
- to work out the answer to (a problem)
- to obtain the roots of (an equation)
Derived forms of solve
solver, noun
Word Origin for solve
C15: from Latin solvere to loosen, release, free from debt
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Synonyms
Example Sentences
They are working to solve the traffic problem.
If they’ll lend us the money we need, all our problems will be solved.
He couldn’t solve the math problem.
The mystery has been solved.
The FBI has been trying to solve the case for years.
Recent Examples on the Web
The game includes eight clues and four blank cards to personalize to solve the graduation hunt.
—
Angela Belt, House Beautiful, 29 Mar. 2023
One way to solve that problem is to clarify when people should be in the office, says Caitlin Duffy, a director in Gartner’s HR practice.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2023
Progressive supervisors say Mayor London Breed is not properly managing resources to solve the city’s biggest problems, like homelessness, the drug crisis, housing affordability and property crime.
—Fifth & Mission Podcast, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2023
And while those people don’t have the power to unilaterally solve the underlying problem of climate change, some communities are now grappling with how to adapt to sea level rise by constructing new defenses, restoring natural defenses, or just moving out of the way.
—David Schechter, Haley Rush, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent President Joe Biden a letter on Tuesday suggesting how to reign in government spending, but his ideas are ambiguous and unlikely to actually solve anything.
—Tori Otten, The New Republic, 28 Mar. 2023
There are plenty of mysteries left to solve.
—Adam Rathe, Town & Country, 27 Mar. 2023
Sunset Empire arrives Tuesday, and finds Morris Baker living as a private investigator seeking to solve a missing person’s case as the Korean War rages on.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2023
This is a problem that zkEVM will help to solve, along with enabling mass scaling for Ethereum, which will help with the onboarding of new users, Buterin said.
—Marco Quiroz-gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 27 Mar. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘solve.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, to loosen, from Latin solvere to loosen, solve, dissolve, from sed-, se- apart + luere to release — more at secede, lose
First Known Use
circa 1533, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of solve was
circa 1533
Dictionary Entries Near solve
Cite this Entry
“Solve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solve. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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1 Apr 2023
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
Other forms: solved; solving; solves
To solve something is to find a solution, like figuring out the answer to a complex riddle.
The verb solve is often used in mathematics, and it means to answer a math problem. You can solve other, non-mathematical problems too — like the question of what to wear when you’ve run out of clean clothes (your sibling’s clothes!). The word solve originally came from the Latin solvere, which meant «to loosen or untie.» If you think of any kind of complex problem as a knot, then the original definition of solve still makes sense!
Definitions of solve
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verb
find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
“did you
solve the problem?”-
synonyms:
figure out, lick, puzzle out, work, work out
-
“solve an equation”
“solve for x”
-
synonyms:
resolve
-
verb
settle, as of a debt
“solve an old debt”
-
synonyms:
clear
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘solve’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English solven, from Latin solvō.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /sɒlv/
- (General American) IPA(key): /sɑlv/, /sɔlv/
- Rhymes: -ɒlv, -ɑlv, -ɔlv
Verb[edit]
solve (third-person singular simple present solves, present participle solving, simple past and past participle solved)
- To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
-
1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), 6th edition, London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, →OCLC:
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True piety would effectually solve such scruples.
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- 1649, Thomas Tickell, Thoughts occasioned by the sight of an original picture of King Charles I taken at the time of his trial
- God shall solve the dark decrees of fate.
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2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
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A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. This set-up solves several problems […].
-
-
- to find out the perpetrator, the motive etc (of crime)
-
to solve a murder to solve a crime
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- (mathematics) To find the values of variables that satisfy a system of equations and/or inequalities.
- (mathematics) To algebraically manipulate an equation or inequality into a form that isolates a chosen variable on one side, so that the other side consists of an expression that may be used to generate solutions.
- (transitive) To loosen or separate the parts of.
Derived terms[edit]
- resolve
- solvable
- solution
[edit]
Translations[edit]
to find an answer or solution
- Albanian: zgjidh (sq)
- Arabic: ذَابَ (ḏāba), حَلَّ (ar) (ḥalla)
- Armenian: լուծել (hy) (lucel)
- Azerbaijani: çözmək, həll etmək (az)
- Belarusian: развя́зваць impf (razvjázvacʹ), развяза́ць pf (razvjazácʹ), раша́ць impf (rašácʹ), рашы́ць pf (rašýcʹ)
- Bulgarian: реша́вам (bg) impf (rešávam), реша́ (bg) pf (rešá)
- Burmese: ရှင်း (my) (hrang:), ဖြေ (my) (hpre)
- Catalan: resoldre (ca), solucionar (ca)
- Cebuano: sulbaron
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 解決／解决 (gaai2 kyut3)
- Mandarin: 解決／解决 (zh) (jiějué)
- Min Nan: 解決／解决 (zh-min-nan) (kái-koat)
- Czech: řešit (cs) impf, vyřešit (cs) pf
- Danish: løse
- Dutch: oplossen (nl)
- Esperanto: solvi (eo)
- Finnish: ratkaista (fi), selvittää (fi)
- French: résoudre (fr), régler (fr), solutionner (fr)
- Georgian: აგვარებს (agvarebs), წყვეტს (c̣q̇veṭs), გადაჭრის (gadač̣ris), ამოხსნის (amoxsnis), ხსნის (xsnis)
- German: lösen (de)
- Greek: λύνω (el) (lýno)
- Higaonon: sulbad
- Hindi: हल करना (hal karnā)
- Hungarian: megold (hu), megfejt (hu)
- Icelandic: ráða (is), leysa
- Ido: solvar (io)
- Irish: fuascail
- Italian: risolvere (it)
- Japanese: 解決する (ja) (かいけつする, kaiketsu suru)
- Kazakh: шешу (kk) (şeşu), шығару (şyğaru)
- Khmer: កាត់ (km) (kat), ដោះ (km) (dɑh)
- Korean: 해결하다 (ko) (haegyeolhada)
- Kyrgyz: чечүү (ky) (çeçüü), чыгаруу (ky) (çıgaruu)
- Lao: ແກ້ (lo) (kǣ), ແກ້ໄຂ (lo) (kǣ khai)
- Macedonian: решава impf (rešava), реши pf (reši)
- Malay: menyelesaikan
- Maori: whakatikatika, whakatika, hīraurau, whakaoti (in mathematics)
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: шийдэх (mn) (šiidex)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: løse (no)
- Occitan: resòlver (oc)
- Persian: حل کردن (fa) (hal kardan)
- Polish: rozwiązywać (pl) impf, rozwiązać (pl) pf
- Portuguese: resolver (pt), solucionar (pt)
- Romanian: rezolva (ro), soluționa (ro), lămuri (ro)
- Russian: реша́ть (ru) impf (rešátʹ), реши́ть (ru) pf (rešítʹ)
- Sardinian: resòlvere
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: реша́вати impf, рјеша́вати impf, ре́шити pf, рије́шити pf
- Roman: rešávati (sh) impf, rješávati (sh) impf, réšiti (sh) pf, rijéšiti (sh) pf
- Slovak: riešiť impf, vyriešiť pf
- Slovene: reševati impf, rešiti (sl) pf
- Spanish: resolver (es), solucionar (es), solventar (es)
- Swedish: lösa (sv)
- Tagalog: lutasin
- Tajik: ҳал кардан (hal kardan)
- Telugu: పరిష్కరించు (te) (pariṣkariñcu)
- Thai: แก้ (th) (gɛ̂ɛ), แก้ไข (th) (gɛ̂ɛ-kǎi)
- Turkish: çözmek (tr), halletmek (tr)
- Ukrainian: розв’я́зувати impf (rozvʺjázuvaty), розв’яза́ти pf (rozvʺjazáty), вирі́шувати impf (vyríšuvaty), ви́рішити pf (výrišyty)
- Urdu: حل کرنا (hal karnā)
- Uzbek: hal etmoq
- Vietnamese: giải quyết (vi)
- West Frisian: oplosse
Noun[edit]
solve (plural solves)
- (now rare, chiefly law enforcement) A solution; an explanation.
- 2014 February 4, The Party, Gil Ozeri and Gabe Liedman (writers), Michael Engler (director), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 1, episode 16:
- KEVIN: I decided a long time ago that just because I love Raymond, doesn’t mean I have to love the people he works with. Good solve, Detective.
-
2017, Elodia Strain, The Dating Experiment, →ISBN:
-
“Hey, Mr. Quilt Bandit.”
Ian smiled. “Nice solve, Nancy Drew.”
-
- 2014 February 4, The Party, Gil Ozeri and Gabe Liedman (writers), Michael Engler (director), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 1, episode 16:
Anagrams[edit]
- Loves, loves, slove, voles, voëls
Italian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ˈsɔl.ve/
- Rhymes: -ɔlve
- Hyphenation: sòl‧ve
Verb[edit]
solve
- third-person singular present indicative of solvere
Anagrams[edit]
- svelo, svelò, volse
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈsol.u̯e/, [ˈs̠ɔɫ̪u̯ɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈsol.ve/, [ˈsɔlve]
Verb[edit]
solve
- second-person singular present active imperative of solvō
References[edit]
- solve in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Middle English[edit]
Verb[edit]
solve
- Alternative form of solven
Too often the result of such instruction is students who can add when told to add, or solve quadratic equations when told to �solve the following quadratic equations,� but cannot decide when to use these techniques in solving problems. ❋ Jim Horn (2008)
I want to travel, see the sites, maybe solve some — «She almost said _solve some murders_, but finished lamely,» — solve some problems in magnesium technology. » ❋ Unknown (2004)
Always, the main problem to solve is to help the user to find «the needle in the haystack». ❋ Unknown (2008)
Israel’s foreign minister has suggested that France and Spain solve Europe’s problems before lecturing his country on how to deal with the Israeli-Arab conflict. ❋ Unknown (2010)
Levy also says that along with scheduling, figuring out the mystery that the grown up Hardy boys need to solve is also a key element to figure out before moving forward. ❋ Unknown (2010)
A brilliant puzzle that no one can solve is called a “failure.” ❋ Unknown (2009)
You won’t, in short, solve anything by draconian bans, by wiping whole nations from the cricketing map. ❋ Unknown (2010)
The ultimate issue to solve is communities not functioning, it is the decline of communities and community integration that is also causing the decline of the pubs that rely on those communities. ❋ Unknown (2008)
But if the problem you are trying to solve is CO2 emissions then the only viable alternative is nuclear power. ❋ Unknown (2008)
If the problem that you are trying to solve is dependence of foreign energy sources then corn-ethanol may be a viable solution. ❋ Unknown (2008)
Another problem “real names” proposes to solve is this one: ❋ Unknown (2008)
The most vital question concerning immigration, and the one most hard to solve, is the problem of eugenics, the problem of building up our nation with folks of sound heredity. ‘ ❋ Unknown (2007)
The problem I am trying to solve is not uncommon in professional services firm. ❋ Unknown (2007)
The equation the Chinese planners have to solve is much more complex, involving everything from pollution to currency controls to maintaining social order while exerting control. ❋ Unknown (2006)
Practice and training can help the brain solve the problem more capably, but people and other primates simply aren’t wired for consistency like computers or machines. ❋ Edward Willett (2006)
[That guy] is [such a] solve! ❋ Bigbadbitch (2018)
Solve the [puzzle] ❋ Orrinpants (2022)
Guy 1: Damn, I’ve been [searching] everywhere for [my phone] for the last hour!
Guy 2: Did you check your [pockets]?
Guy 1: Ah! Mystery solved. ❋ UrbanFanBoy (2011)
[im] problem solving, [leave me alone] ❋ Princessblingbling (2015)
«the [murderer] can’t [kill] you if [you are] the murderer»
«problem solved» ❋ Kreous (2018)
[Alright then] just solve math when you wanna [kick it].
or
So I can solve math sometime [breezy]? ❋ Jaz W. (2006)
[Hey yo] Gerald, let’s go [solve a mystery] in your van [after class], and maybe get some Taco Bell on the way! ❋ Mystery Mam (2018)
[I like] speed solving {[Rubik’s cube]} ❋ NoahzTeen_
That [boy] is [solving meat] ❋ Name Charles (2018)
«How are [children] [made]?»
«It is made by Puzzle Solving» ❋ Play0207 (2020)