mystery
Pluralmysteries
- 1Someone or something that people cannot understand or explain, or do not know about.
Like a locked box after you have lost the key.
How the ancient builders moved the huge stones is still a mystery.
The cause of the strange noise in the attic remained a mystery for weeks.
UsageSay it's a mystery to me.
- 2A story, book, or film about a crime that gets solved at the end.
Like a puzzle that only fits together on the very last page.
She stayed up all night reading a murder mystery.
They watched a mystery on TV and tried to guess the ending.
UsageSay a murder mystery.
Similarwhodunit
- 3A religious truth that people cannot fully understand without God's help.
Like a height too tall to reach without a ladder lent to you.
The priest said the Trinity is a mystery beyond human reason.
Faith teaches that some truths remain a mystery to the human mind.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4An old play that acts out a story from the Bible.
Like a school nativity play, but for the whole town to watch.
The medieval mystery told the story of Noah and his ark.
Each guild performed its own mystery during the summer festival.
Note
- 5A secret religious ceremony that only members who have been initiated may join.
Like a private club you can enter only after a secret test.
Ancient Greeks traveled to Eleusis to take part in the mysteries.
Only those who passed the initiation could take part in the mystery.
Similarrite
Note
- 6An important event in the life of Jesus or of his mother Mary, remembered during prayer.
Like pausing on each photo in an album to remember the day it shows.
Catholics reflect on a different mystery during each part of the rosary.
The third joyful mystery focuses on the birth of Jesus.
UsageOften used in the mysteries of the rosary.
Note
- 7A holy Christian ceremony, such as baptism or communion.
Like an important ceremony that joins a person to their faith.
In the Eastern church, baptism is called a mystery.
The priest performed the mystery before the gathered congregation.
UsageWestern churches say sacrament.
Similarsacrament
Note
- 8A hidden or spiritual meaning lying behind a text or symbol.
Note
- 9A skilled trade or craft, or a group of workers who share it.
The trades, the crafts, the mysteries, would all be losers.
1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsHere, mysteries means trades or crafts, the skilled work people do.Note
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Ancient Greek 'mystḗrion', meaning a secret or secret rite, which goes back to 'mýō', meaning 'I shut'. It reached English through Latin and Old French.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Mystery derives from Ancient Greek mystḗrion, meaning a secret or secret rite. en.wiktionary.org
- The Greek word ultimately derives from mýō, meaning I shut. en.wiktionary.org
- The word reached English through Latin and Old French. en.wiktionary.org