MAZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does maze mean? 

• MAZE (noun)
  The noun MAZE has 2 senses:

1. complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost

2. something jumbled or confused

  Familiarity information: MAZE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAZE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

labyrinth; maze

Hypernyms ("maze" is a kind of...):

system (instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity)

Instance hyponyms:

Labyrinth of Minos (a vast labyrinth built in Crete by Daedalus at the command of Minos in order to contain the Minotaur)

Derivation:

mazy (resembling a labyrinth in form or complexity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something jumbled or confused

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

maze; snarl; tangle

Context example:

a tangle of government regulations

Hypernyms ("maze" is a kind of...):

perplexity (trouble or confusion resulting from complexity)

 Context examples 

These ripples occur when the brain of a resting mouse or human rapidly and repeatedly replays a recent memory of moving through a space, such as a maze or a house.

(Predicting Alzheimer's-like memory loss before it strikes, National Science Foundation)

In the latter group of animals, the ripples in the hippocampus and cortex were no more synchronized before exploring the maze than afterwards.

(Study shows how memories ripple through the brain, National Institutes of Health)

Man has just made a track here and a scrape there in the maze.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They trained the rats to find 3 hidden rewards in a maze and assessed their ability to remember the locations the following day.

(Seizures disrupt memory network, NIH)

The team measured the animals’ behaviors while they explored an open field or an elevated maze or while in a chamber with an unfamiliar mouse of the opposite sex.

(Anxiety molecules affect male and female mice differently, NIH)

She is lost, as often as not, in a maze of obscure pensions and boardinghouses.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The NR-treated mice also performed better than control mice on multiple behavioral and memory tests, such as water mazes and object recognition.

(Compound prevents neurological damage, shows cognitive benefits in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, National Institutes of Health)

In one test, the mice remembered the location of a hidden target in a maze better, which allowed them to find it twice as fast as control mice.

(Longevity gene linked to better brain skills, NIH, US)

The genetically-altered mice faltered on tasks requiring navigation of a maze to receive a reward.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

This drop in blood flow was accompanied by the appearance of dementia-like symptoms, including defects in the ability of HSD mice to recognize objects, navigate a maze, and properly build a nest.

(Hold the salt: gut reaction may impair the brains of mice, National Institutes of Health)