SOLVE
What does "SOLVE" mean?
To find the answer to a problem or explanation for something.
Meanings
- To find an answer to or way of dealing with a problem or difficulty. The detectives finally solved the case.
- To find the value or values that satisfy a mathematical equation or problem. She solved the equation for x. technical
Did you know?
- To 'solve' literally means to 'untie': it comes from Latin 'solvere' (to loosen), the same root behind 'dissolve', 'absolve', and 'resolve' - every problem imagined as a knot.
Word origin
From Latin 'solvere', 'to loosen, untie, release'; the idea of solving a problem is literally 'untying' a knot, which is also the root of 'dissolve' and 'absolve'.
Remember it
To SOLVE is to loosen a knot — its Latin root 'solvere' lives on in dis-SOLVE and ab-SOLVE.
A little poem
The tangled string yields not to force but thought-
you loosen one end, and the whole comes taut.
couplet
Wordplay
- Why did the rope make a great detective? It knew that to solve anything, you just untie the knot.
What it teaches
Most problems are knots, not walls: you don't break through, you find the loose end and pull.
Quick facts
What does SOLVE mean?
To find the answer to a problem or explanation for something.
Is SOLVE a valid word?
Yes — SOLVE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SOLVE?
SOLVE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SOLVE come from?
From Latin 'solvere', 'to loosen, untie, release'; the idea of solving a problem is literally 'untying' a knot, which is also the root of 'dissolve' and 'absolve'.
What can SOLVE teach us?
Most problems are knots, not walls: you don't break through, you find the loose end and pull.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.