Rebus Puzzles for Adults
Hi! I am Ollie. Welcome to Rebus Town!
Inside you will find a whole town of rebus puzzles, all kinds, waiting to be cracked. Good luck, and have fun!
These rebus puzzles for adults hide common words and phrases in letters, symbols and pictures. Every card comes with answers, so tap to reveal when you're stuck and watch your score climb. Once these feel easy, our hard rebus puzzles are waiting.
Print these rebus puzzles for adults
Grab the whole set as a printable PDF. Puzzles first, full answer key on the last pages.
Download the printable PDF (with answers)Browse all the puzzles on this page ▾
Classic word rebus puzzles with answers
Letter arrangements like COF FEE and BAN ANA, where position and spacing are the whole clue. Reading them out loud helps more than you would think.
Emoji rebus puzzles for adults
Nearly half the deck pairs emoji into everyday sayings. A moon plus a light bulb is easier said than solved, and a few chains run three symbols long.
Picture rebuses and tricky finishers
Six drawn SVG puzzles hide phrases in layout and shape. Stacked words, jagged lines and one sad little picture round out the set.
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1. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The repetition is a decoy; the arrow picks a position in the pile.
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Bottom line. The arrow points at the lowest of three LINEs, the bottom line.
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2. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Count the copies of the repeated word and say that number out loud.
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Rags to riches. RAGS followed by two RICHES reads as rags TWO riches, which sounds like rags to riches.
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3. Say what you see.
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The ink color is part of the answer, not just decoration.
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Golden handshake. The word HANDSHAKE printed in gold reads as a golden handshake, the executive send-off payment.
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4. Say what you see.
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Start with the lower word, then say where it sits relative to the upper one.
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Paid under the table. PAID sits under TABLE, so it reads paid under the table.
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5. Say what you see.
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A short word has been dropped inside a longer one; say where it landed.
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Cog in the machine. COG appears inside the word MACHINE, giving cog in the machine.
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6. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Count the copies of the second word; that number sounds like a little linking word.
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Dress for success. DRESS followed by four copies of SUCCESS reads as dress FOUR success, which sounds like dress for success.
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7. Say what you see.
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A small word is tucked inside a bigger one; say where it sits.
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Fall in love. The word FALL sits inside the word LOVE, so you read fall IN love.
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8. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Two small words are trapped inside a bigger one; their location is the third word.
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A match made in heaven. MATCH MADE sits inside HEAVEN, so you read a match made IN heaven.
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9. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Count the copies; the number sounds like a small connecting word.
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Heart to heart. The word appears two times, and two sounds like TO, so it reads heart TO heart.
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10. Read it out loud.
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Do, re, mi: read the music note as the first syllable.
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Remind (re + mind). The note RE plus MIND does what every calendar ping does: REMIND you.
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11. Say what you see.
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The text is leaning; the direction it leans is the missing first word.
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Right as rain. The words AS RAIN lean to the right, so the slant supplies the missing first word: right as rain.
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12. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Read the left word, then state where it stands relative to the right word.
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The calm before the storm. CALM stands just ahead of STORM, the calm before the storm.
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13. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Those capital-lowercase pairs are chemistry symbols: read them straight through.
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Banana (Ba + Na + Na). Barium, sodium, sodium: Ba Na Na peels into BANANA.
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14. Say what you see.
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Read the small inner word, then say where it sits within the outer word.
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A fork in the road. FORK is written inside the word ROAD, a fork in the road.
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15. Say what you see.
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The word reads bottom to top; say the word first, then the direction it climbs.
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Level up. LEVEL is written reading upward, so it is a level going up, level up.
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16. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Note which way the whole phrase reads first, then say the digit out loud.
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Down for the count. The phrase 4 THE COUNT reads downward and the 4 sounds like FOR, giving down for the count.
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17. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Read the trapped word first, say where it is sitting, then read the rest.
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The ball is in your court. BALL is written in the middle of YOUR COURT, so the ball is in your court.
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18. Say what you see.
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The line through the word cancels it; say that cancellation first.
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No sweat. The word SWEAT is crossed out, meaning there is no sweat.
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19. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Say each chunk out loud; the lone middle digit is a sound alike word.
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Second to none. 2ND reads as SECOND and the lone 2 sounds like TO, giving second to none.
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20. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The repetition is a decoy; the arrow picks a position in the pile.
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Top seed. The arrow points at the TOP of the three stacked SEEDs, the top seed.
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21. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Say every character by name. The lone letter in the middle stands for a whole little word, and the number-letter pairs each make two words.
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To be or not to be. 2B ('two-bee'), R ('ar'), NOT, 2B read aloud give the Hamlet line TO BE OR NOT TO BE.
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22. Read it out loud.
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Four characters, four syllables: say the three letter names, then the number, with no pauses.
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Accelerate. X ('ex'), L ('el'), R ('ar'), 8 ('eight') said together sound like ACCELERATE.
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23. Read it out loud.
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Three letters and a number, each read aloud as its own little word: a promise to repay a favor.
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I owe you one. The letters I, O, U plus the number 1 read aloud say I OWE YOU ONE.
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24. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Say where the top word sits relative to the bottom one, as a direction.
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An ace up your sleeve. ACE sits up above SLEEVE: an ace up your sleeve.
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25. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Swap the metal for its two-letter symbol on the periodic table, then read on.
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Female (Fe + male). Iron is Fe on the periodic table: Fe plus MALE reads FEMALE.
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26. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Two of the four tokens are letter pairs: say their letter names to turn each pair into a word, and read the rest as printed.
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Easy come, easy go. EZ ('ee-zee') reads as EASY twice, giving EASY COME EASY GO.
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27. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Replace the gas with its one-letter chemical symbol, then read the whole thing.
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Open (O + pen). Oxygen is just O: O plus PEN swings OPEN.
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28. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The little word on top, plus where it sits, gives the start of the phrase.
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In over your head. IN sits over YOUR HEAD: in over your head.
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29. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
The element shrinks to its one-letter symbol before you read.
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Cup (C + up). Carbon is C on the periodic table: C plus UP fills a CUP.
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30. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Count the copies and say that number out loud, then say the letter's name as a plural. Size does not matter here.
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Four eyes. Four copies of the letter I read as four Is, which sounds like four eyes.
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31. Read it out loud.
Need a hint?
Turn BOTH words into their periodic-table symbols and read them together.
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Cafe (Ca + Fe). Calcium is Ca and iron is Fe: together they brew a CAFE.
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32. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Say where the middle word sits, and count what surrounds it.
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Torn between two lovers. TORN sits between two copies of LOVERS: torn between two lovers.
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33. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Notice where the second word is placed: right at the finish of the first.
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Light at the end of the tunnel. LIGHT appears at the very end of the word TUNNEL.
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34. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The print size is doing the talking, it gives you the first word.
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Small fry. FRY printed in tiny letters reads as SMALL FRY, an idiom for someone unimportant.
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35. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Read the word, then let the oversized lettering give you the word that goes in front.
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Big top. TOP printed in giant letters reads as BIG TOP, the main circus tent.
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36. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The arrow singles out one copy; turn its position into an ordinal.
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Fifth wheel. The arrow points at the FIFTH of five WHEELs, the odd one out: a fifth wheel.
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37. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Count the copies; the repeated word is also what digits are called.
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Six figures. FIGURE appears six times, so the pay is in six figures.
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38. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Count the copies and notice which way the words are pointing.
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Two thumbs up. THUMBS appears twice and both copies read upward: two thumbs up.
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39. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
The arrow says reverse: spell the word from its last letter to its first.
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Repaid. DIAPER in reverse is REPAID: a debt every parent understands.
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40. Say what you see.
Need a hint?
Read the word the way the arrow travels: back to front.
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Reward. DRAWER read backwards is REWARD.
Your score
FAQ about Rebus Puzzles for Adults
How do you solve a rebus puzzle?
Treat position, size, direction and repetition as part of the clue, not decoration. A word printed backward, split in half or sitting on top of another word is telling you exactly what to say.
Are answers included for every puzzle?
Yes, all 40 rebus puzzles come with answers. Tap any card to reveal the solution, and the multiple choice ones tell you instantly whether you got it.
Can I use these rebuses for a team game or party?
They work great on a projector or in a group chat. Show one, give the room thirty seconds, then reveal. The emoji rounds are usually the crowd favorites.
If you liked stretching your brain with these, keep the challenge going with our clever riddles for adults, then browse the full collection of rebus puzzles to test how many hidden phrases you can crack next.