jigsaw puzzle

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.

Collins COBUILD 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

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

noun