problem

noun
/ˈpɹɒbləm/CA/ˈpɹɒblɪm/UK/ˈpɹɑbləm/US

Etymology

From Middle English probleme, from Middle French probleme, from Latin problēma, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle, anything projecting, a headland, promontory”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw or lay something in front of someone, to put forward”), from προ- (pro-, “in front of”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, to cast, to hurl”). Doublet of problema.

  1. derived from πρόβλημα — “anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle, anything projecting, a headland, promontory
  2. derived from problēma
  3. derived from probleme
  4. inherited from probleme

Definitions

  1. A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.

    • She's leaving because she faced numerous problems to do with racism.
    • “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
    • The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
  2. A question to be answered, schoolwork exercise.

    • Study hard, but don't overdo it. The problems in the exam won't be difficult to solve.
  3. A puzzling circumstance.

  4. + 5 more definitions
    1. Objection.

      • You got a problem with that?
    2. Difficulty in accepting or understanding or refusal to accept or understand.

      • You made your best honest effort; if they judge you harshly, that’s their problem, not yours.
    3. A set of moves required to complete a climb.

    4. Difficult to train or guide

      Difficult to train or guide; unruly.

    5. Causing a problem

      Causing a problem; problematic; troublesome.

      • It is more problem to my family than to me.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at problem. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01problem02answered03answer04reaction05politics06methodology07implementation08engineering09engineer10design

A definitional loop anchored at problem. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at problem

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA