labyrinth

UK: /ˈlæbərɪnθ/ US: /ˈlæbərɪnθ/ ,(lab′ə rinth)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lab•y•rinth /ˈlæbərɪnθ/   n. [countable]

1. a complicated combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit:
   a labyrinth of small winding streets in the Old Quarter.
2. a complicated arrangement or state of things or events:
   a labyrinth of government red tape.

lab•y•rin•thine /ˌlæbəˈrɪnθɪn, -θaɪn/  adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lab•y•rinth  (lab′ə rinth), n. 

1. an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit.
2. a maze of paths bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who search for a way out.
3. a complicated or tortuous arrangement, as of streets or buildings.
4. any confusingly intricate state of things or events;
   a bewildering complex.
5. Mythology (cap.) [Class. Myth.] a vast maze built in Crete by Daedalus, at the command of King Minos, to house the Minotaur.
6. Anatomy
   • the internal ear, consisting of a bony portion (bony labyrinth)and a membranous portion (membranous labyrinth.)
   • the aggregate of air chambers in the ethmoid bone, between the eye and the upper part of the nose.
7. a mazelike pattern inlaid in the pavement of a church.
8. Sound Reproduction a loudspeaker enclosure with air chambers at the rear for absorbing sound waves radiating in one direction so as to prevent their interference with waves radiated in another direction.

• Medieval Latin laborintus, Latin, as above
• Greek labýrinthos; replacing earlier laborynt
• Latin labyrinthus
• 1540–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

labyrinth / ˈlæbərɪnθ/ noun

1. a mazelike network of tunnels, chambers, or paths, either natural or artificial
   Compare maze1
2. any complex or confusing system of streets, passages, etc
3. a complex or intricate situation
4. any system of interconnecting cavities, esp those comprising the internal ear
5. an enclosure behind a high-performance loudspeaker, consisting of a series of air chambers designed to absorb unwanted sound waves

Etymology: 16th Century: via Latin from Greek laburinthos, of obscure origin