jigsaw puzzle

American  

[jig-saw puhz-uhl] / ˈdʒɪgˌsɔ ˌpʌz əl /

noun

1. Also called picture puzzle.  a set of irregularly cut pieces of pasteboard, wood, or the like that form a picture or design when fitted together.

2. any complex, confusing situation, condition, or item, as one composed of seemingly diverse or unrelated elements.

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jigsaw puzzle British  

noun

1. a puzzle in which the player has to reassemble a picture that has been mounted on a wooden or cardboard base and cut into a large number of irregularly shaped interlocking pieces

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Etymology

Origin of jigsaw puzzle

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

All the while, Stewart treats the collected imagery of her protagonist’s bruised life like scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces with razor-sharp edges.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026

"This incident is more complex than a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle," Leung told AFP.

From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025

The diffuse structure of nonlinear novels engaged readers in a new and unexpected way, inviting them to piece together scattered episodes in the manner of a jigsaw puzzle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

This is a jigsaw puzzle we've been putting together for five years.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Totally weird, but I couldn't help but think that his face looked like some kind of jigsaw puzzle, the pieces not quite in the right place.

From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds