jigsaw puzzle

American  

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

noun

• jigsaw puzzles
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• jigsaw puzzles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of jigsaw puzzle

First recorded in 1905–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jigsaw puzzle

It’s almost like jigsaw puzzle, but it’s electronic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The jigsaw puzzle you had in your 30s and 40s will influence the one you have in your 60s.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Anuska Tilden, 67, was working on a jigsaw puzzle one recent morning at the local senior center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

"We're not long-term puzzlers, but somehow a jigsaw puzzle was on the end of the dining table in the family house last Christmas," she explained.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

I think fitting the pieces together would be just like a jigsaw puzzle, except it wouldn’t be cardboard pasted together and hung on a wall.

From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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