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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of jigsaw puzzle

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

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 • Feb. 6, 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