Oxford Essential Dictionary
jigsaw
(also jigsaw puzzle) noun
a picture in many pieces that you put together
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
jigsaw
jig‧saw /ˈdʒɪɡsɔː $ -sɒː/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1. (also ˈjigsaw ˌpuzzle) a picture cut up into many pieces that you try to fit together
2. [usually singular] a very complicated situation, especially one that you are trying to understand:
As he explained, another piece of the jigsaw fell into place.
3. a tool for cutting out shapes in thin pieces of wood
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
jigsaw
jig·saw [jigsaw jigsaws] [ˈdʒɪɡsɔː] [ˈdʒɪɡsɔː] noun
1. (also ˈjigsaw puzzle) (also puz·zle especially in NAmE) a picture printed on cardboard or wood, that has been cut up into a lot of small pieces of different shapes that you have to fit together again
• to do a jigsaw
2. a mysterious situation in which it is not easy to understand all the causes of what is happening; a complicated problem
• If Hollis was a double agent then the Crabb affair fits neatly into the jigsaw.
3. a saw (= a type of tool) with a fine blade for cutting designs in thin pieces of wood or metal
See also: puzzle
Word Origin:
late 19th cent.: from the verb jig + the noun saw.
Example Bank:
• One piece of the jigsaw is still missing.
• The police managed to piece together the jigsaw and reconstruct the victim's last hours.
• This is another piece in the jigsaw that will help us understand the biology of cancer.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
jigsaw / ˈdʒɪɡ.sɔː / / -sɑː / noun [ C ] ( also jigsaw puzzle ) (PICTURE GAME)
jigsaw
a picture stuck onto wood or cardboard and cut into pieces of different shapes that must be joined together correctly to form the picture again:
We spent all evening doing a 1,000-piece jigsaw.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
jigsaw
/dʒɪgsɔ:/
(jigsaws)
1.
A jigsaw or jigsaw puzzle is a picture on cardboard or wood that has been cut up into odd shapes. You have to make the picture again by putting the pieces together correctly.
= puzzle
N-COUNT
2.
You can describe a complicated situation as a jigsaw.
...the jigsaw of high-level diplomacy.
N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
jigsaw
jig·saw /ˈʤɪgˌsɑː/ noun, pl -saws [count]
1 : a machine that has a narrow blade for cutting curved lines in thin pieces of wood, metal, plastic, etc.
2 chiefly Brit : jigsaw puzzle