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

See Examples For:

jigsaw puzzle

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 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

"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

A key piece in the jigsaw puzzle of the doomed robins was soon to be supplied by Dr. Roy Barker of the Illinois Natural History Survey at Urbana.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson