tangram

noun

tan·​gram ˈtaŋ-grəm 

ˈtan-

: a Chinese puzzle made by cutting a square of thin material into five triangles, a square, and a rhomboid which are capable of being recombined in many different figures

Illustration of tangram

Examples of tangram in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tangram block set Ages: 4 and older Price: $36 These tangram felt blocks includes seven shapes with 46 patterns, 23 easy and 23 hard. —Alec Johnson, jsonline.com, 5 Dec. 2025

Then came the writers’ strike, and the actors’ strike, and the tangram of the talents’ schedules and projects. —Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024

Tangrams Plus Tangrams Plus is based on the ancient Chinese tangram puzzles. —cleveland, 16 Mar. 2020

Each branch has a set of large tangram blocks — interlocking pieces that can be built with and used as movable seats. —Katherine Nails, Philly.com, 21 June 2018

Math activities in the classroom featured the creation of math tangram puzzles, math scavenger hunts, math puzzles, etc. —Julie A. Short/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, 29 Dec. 2017

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Chinese (Beijing) táng Chinese + English -gram

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tangram

• abram
• ashram
• begam
• buckram
• doorjamb
• exam
• goddam
• grandam
• priam
• program
• programme
• wolfram

Kids Definition

tangram

noun

tan·​gram ˈtaŋ-grəm 

ˈtan-

: a Chinese puzzle made by cutting a square of thin material into a number of pieces which can be recombined into many different figures