solve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to find the explanation for or solution to (a mystery, problem, etc)
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maths
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to work out the answer to (a problem)
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to obtain the roots of (an equation)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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solvesimple
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solvessimple
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have solvedperfect
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has solvedperfect
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am solvingprogressive
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are solvingprogressive
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is solvingprogressive
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have been solvingperfect progressive
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has been solvingperfect progressive
Past
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solvedsimple
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had solvedperfect
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was solvingprogressive
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were solvingprogressive
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had been solvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solve
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English solven, from Latin solvere “to loosen, free, release”
Explanation
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!
Vocabulary lists containing solve
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"There's little public transportation, fuel is very expensive, electricity networks are unreliable. So a really cool innovation like the Stella Juva can help us solve such big challenges in healthcare delivery," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
“We need to stop asking whose case is this, and rather ask how do we solve this case together? How do we solve the problem together?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Dancing didn’t solve the crisis, but it helped us survive long enough to keep fighting.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
"We are all working together to solve the astrophysics questions about how these black holes get their fuel and how they interact with their host galaxy."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
"So we'll have lots of strength to solve the case!"
From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene
When we are asleep, our brain consolidates the memories of the day, processes emotions, and solves problems that defied it in the waking hours.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
“The innovation itself is remarkable. It’s not obvious to me which unmet consumer need evo uniquely solves, especially at roughly double the price of pods.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Miller: If it solves climate change, it can have my job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
"It kind of blew the doors open in terms of a very approachable, anybody-can-do-it game. Everybody solves it, whether it's in two tries or six. It doesn't take that long and it feels great."
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
The theory neatly solves the grandfather paradox by positing separate universes in which each possible outcome exists, thereby avoiding a paradox.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
"Midea solved this problem in quite an interesting way," Denis Yurchak, a Vienna resident, tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
“But until this mystery is solved, it is best to avoid these foods altogether.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite its achievements, Ukraine hasn’t solved every problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
But two years after the Supreme Court untied their hands, Grants Pass has not solved homelessness, and things have gone from bad to worse.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
“Clever!” she’d yell out, and shake her head as the librex chimed out the tune indicating she’d solved the crossword.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
“You are not solving the right problem, which is the mental-health crisis,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Change often starts locally, she says, with people solving the problem in front of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
So while the benefits on my first travel credit card were great, they weren’t solving problems that I actually had.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Games have become second lives to people, about collaboration, puzzle solving, community and identity.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Soon she was solving ciphers for the Coast Guard “in emergencies.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.