jigsaw
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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a mechanical saw with a fine steel blade for cutting intricate curves in sheets of material
-
See jigsaw puzzle
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jigsaw
Explanation
A jigsaw is a sharp power tool that's used for cutting curvy lines in wood or other materials. While most saws can only cut in a straight line, a jigsaw makes it easier to cut complicated patterns and shapes. If you were making a jigsaw puzzle out of wood, you'd use a jigsaw. In fact, this is where the "jigsaw puzzle," (which is also simply called a jigsaw), got its name. The original meaning comes from the word jig and its sense of "up and down motion," which describes the way a jigsaw moves as it cuts.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
“It was like a jigsaw puzzle of all the pieces from different puzzles,” Jacob said, “with a few missing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
The jigsaw came together brilliantly, with opposition teams struggling to adapt to City's build-up.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Consumer advocates say the Los Angeles complaints are one piece in a nationwide jigsaw of complaints and lawsuits alleging State Farm is unfairly limiting claims payouts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Kingshaw’s glance flew to the jigsaw puzzle on the second shelf of the bookcase.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
In the most recent example, Time magazine this week launched Time Games, featuring online word puzzles and jigsaws made from its iconic magazine covers.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
Findings suggest it formed from chunks of other rocks cemented together - like broken pieces from multiple jigsaws mashed together - in what is known as breccia.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2024
A verbal sharpshooter, he was made for the poetic jigsaws of Pinter and Beckett, two playwrights to whom he maintained a lasting loyalty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
“We wanted to create jigsaws that someone would want to gift as a hostess present, or whip out after a dinner party to work on during dessert.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
More clutter on the third floor: boxes of jars, metal disks, and rusty jigsaws; buckets of what might be electrical components; engineering manuals in piles around a toilet.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
What’s left of the jigsawed and taped-up pages might not provide the thoroughgoing record of his presidency that the law demands, but they are a wrenching testament to his penchant for wanton destruction.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2022
On the album’s cover, his jigsawed visage lies in the grass — either a heartbroken Humpty Dumpty or pop music’s missing piece.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2021
Wachtendonk said that folks will usually ask of the flying machines, jigsawed together with found objects, rotisserie motors and leftover rivets, embellished with metal lanterns, tiny wheels and painted wings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2019
Ochoa has just opened his second restaurant, Salazar, a Sonora-style barbecue place jigsawed into the former mechanic’s shop for which it’s named.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2016
A screened porch with pillars of thin painted pine surmounted by scrolls and brackets and bumps of jigsawed wood.
From Main Street by Lewis, Sinclair
She spends her days jigsawing state and federal funding sources for new water systems, and answering residents’ frequent calls about when they’ll be connected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Then, staffers from the White House Office of Records Management were generally responsible for jigsawing the documents back together, using clear tape.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2022
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.5% to 3,205.83 after jigsawing earlier in the day.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2021
Though they had some wiggle room, it still took an entire summer of jigsawing to get it to work at Moravian and Swain, for example, school leaders said.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 20, 2021
This allowed them to continue jigsawing dislocated fragments to put their own ideas into Nietzsche’s mouth.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 6, 2018
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
