Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To find a solution to.
- v. To work out a correct solution to (a problem).
- v. To solve an equation: Insert the values of the constants and solve for x.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To loosen; disentangle; unravel; hence, to explain or clear up the difficulties in; resolve; explain; make clear; remove perplexity from: as, to solve a difficulty, a puzzle, or a problem.
- To determine; put an end to; settle.
- To determine or work out by rule; operate on by calculation or mathematical processes, so as to bring out the required result: as, to solve a problem in mathematics.
- To dissolve; melt.
- n. Solution.
Wiktionary
- v. To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
- v. To find the values of variables that satisfy a system of equations and/or inequalities.
- v. 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.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To explain; to resolve; to unfold; to clear up (what is obscure or difficult to be understood); to work out to a result or conclusion.
- n. A solution; an explanation.
WordNet 3.0
- v. find the solution
- v. settle, as of a debt
- v. find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
Etymologies
- Middle English solven, to loosen, from Latin solvere; see leu- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“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.”
“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. ”
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“Always, the main problem to solve is to help the user to find "the needle in the haystack".”
“A brilliant puzzle that no one can solve is called a “failure.””
“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.”
Voice of America: Israeli FM: Europe Should Solve Own Problems Before Ours
“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.”
“You won't, in short, solve anything by draconian bans, by wiping whole nations from the cricketing map.”
“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.”
“But if the problem you are trying to solve is CO2 emissions then the only viable alternative is nuclear power.”
Global Warming and the Minefield of Unintended Consequences - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com
“If the problem that you are trying to solve is dependence of foreign energy sources then corn-ethanol may be a viable solution.”
Global Warming and the Minefield of Unintended Consequences - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘solve’.
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North American sports reporting
North American sports reporting seems to use vernacular to a much greater extent than its British equivalent. I think this is partly because of the stat-heavy nature of NA sports: reports would be ...
snap, dandy, author, nifty, rookie, storied, streak, ice, score a tally, shutout, blank, dish and 13 more...
gangerh One of the simplest copy writing formulas is to state the customer's problem, tell them you can solve it and then tell them precisely how you're going to solve it.
'15 words that will make you money' Jul 23, 2009
bilby What language is this? Apr 19, 2009
yarb In North American sports reporting, to score against for the first time in a game:
"Taylor Pyatt finally solved Detroit netminder Chris Osgood at 2:27 of the second, pouncing on a loose puck after he and Kyle Wellwood forced little Wing Jiri Hudler into a turnover in his own slot area."
- Canucks ride high after fourth straight win, Vancouver Sun, 11-25-08.
Taylor Pyatt, a great hockey name. Nov 25, 2008