Tower of Hanoi

proper noun

A mathematical puzzle or game which consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes that can slide onto any rod. The aim is to transfer a stack of disks, one move at a time, to a different rod, while never allowing a larger disk to be on top of a small one.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A mathematical puzzle or game which consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes that can slide onto any rod. The aim is to transfer a stack of disks, one move at a time, to a different rod, while never allowing a larger disk to be on top of a small one.

    Senkovi felt as though he was […] playing some odd Tower of Hanoi game where to progress he was constantly moving pieces backwards.

    2019, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Ruin, Macmillan, page 153
Cite this entry
APA

Tower of Hanoi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tower%20of%20Hanoi

MLA

“Tower of Hanoi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tower%20of%20Hanoi. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tower of Hanoi,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tower%20of%20Hanoi.

Source: Tower of Hanoi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.