jigsaw puzzle

[jig-saw puhz-uhl]

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of jigsaw puzzle¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Five of those staircases will eventually be fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle to form the show’s iconic barricade where the student revolutionaries fight and die in Act 2.

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An adviser can help you put all the pieces into one big jigsaw puzzle that is your life.

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Since joining in January, he has become the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle they needed last year in midfield.

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“The Stormtrooper scene was like a jigsaw puzzle. We had to mix a practical location with a staged set and then all the TIE fighter stuff was also shot on a stage.”

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Children were offered books, jigsaw puzzles and soft toys - and the cells have brightly coloured murals on the walls, with posters carrying the Childline helpline number on the ceiling.

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