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

I shield our disgusting jigsaw puzzle with my body to prevent water damage.

From Literature

My goal when I get home is a jigsaw puzzle — with either a podcast or jazz on in the background — until probably like 2 in the morning.

From Los Angeles Times

On the large table is a half-finished jigsaw puzzle of kittens in a knitting basket.

From Literature

Inside Preston Lodge, patients eat meals together and some of them socialise, too - doing jigsaw puzzles and watching TV together.

From BBC

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