baf·fle

[baf-uh l] verb, -fled, -fling, noun

–verb (used with object)

1. to confuse, bewilder, or perplex: He was baffled by the  technical language of the instructions.

2. to frustrate or confound; thwart by creating confusion or bewilderment.

3. to check or deflect the movement of (sound, light, fluids, etc.).

4. to equip with a baffle or baffles.

5. Obsolete . to cheat; trick.

–verb (used without object)
6. to struggle ineffectually, as a ship in a gale.

–noun
7. something that balks, checks, or deflects.

8. an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio  or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc.

9. any boxlike enclosure or flat panel for mounting a loudspeaker.