mystery

mys|te|ry¹ W3 [ˈmıstəri] n plural mysteries

[Date: 1300-1400; : Latin; Origin: mysterium, from Greek, from mystos 'keeping silent', from myein (of the eyes or lips) 'to be closed']

1.) [C usually singular]

an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it

▪ Twenty years after the event, his death remains a mystery .

▪ The way her mind worked was always a mystery to him.

▪ 'Why did he do it?' 'I don't know. It's a complete mystery .'

▪ The police never solved the mystery of Gray's disappearance.

▪ But why would anyone want to kill Jack? The mystery deepened .

▪ What happened to the paintings after that is an unsolved mystery .

▪ I don't know how he got the job - it's one of life's little mysteries .

▪ How life began on Earth is one of the great mysteries of science.

2.) [U]

the quality that something or someone has when they seem strange, secret, or difficult to understand or explain

▪ Her dark glasses gave her an air of mystery .

▪ Annie knew that there was some mystery surrounding her birth.

be shrouded/veiled in mystery

▪ The circumstances of his death were veiled in mystery.

3.) [C usually plural]

a subject, activity etc that is very complicated, secret, or difficult to understand, and that people want to learn about

the mysteries of sth

▪ his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business

4.) also murder mystery

a story, film, or play about a murder, in which you are not told who the murderer is until the end

▪ an Agatha Christie mystery

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

remain a mystery

be a mystery (to somebody)

it's a mystery

solve/unravel a mystery (=find an explanation for it)

the mystery deepens (=it becomes more difficult to understand)

a complete mystery

an unsolved mystery

be one of life's (little) mysteries (=be something that you will never understand - used humorously)

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mystery ²

mystery² adj [only before noun]

used to describe someone or something that people do not recognize or know anything about, especially when this causes great interest

mystery man/woman

▪ Who was the mystery woman spotted on board the yacht with the prince?

▪ a mystery virus