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

Etymology

Origin of jigsaw puzzle

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

An older sister turns to sewing her bin of fabric scraps into a quilt top or putting together a jigsaw puzzle to get her dopamine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 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

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

From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025

The full-body suit was made up of about 26 overlapping prosthetic pieces that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2025

It was like working on a complicated jigsaw puzzle without knowing the final picture.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman