Jenga

J8E1N1G2A1
/ˈd͡ʒɛŋɡə/

proper noun

A game where players take turns removing wooden blocks from a stack formed brickwise, the loser being the player whose actions cause the tower to collapse.

OriginSwahili -jenga →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. gamesA game where players take turns removing wooden blocks from a stack formed brickwise, the loser being the player whose actions cause the tower to collapse.

    With a soft-pronged gripper, external camera and force-sensing wrist cuff, the robot can both see and feel individual blocks in a Jenga tower, according to an MIT statement.

    2019 January 31, Jack Guy, “This robot could beat you at Jenga”, in CNN, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2022
  2. figurativelyAny activity that involves great precision with a risk of great failure.

Origin

  1. Swahili-jenga“to construct, to build”
  2. EnglishJenga

Borrowed from Swahili -jenga (“to construct, to build”).

More words from Swahili

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 層層疊 /层层叠
  • 層層疊 /层层叠 (cang⁴ cang⁴ dip⁶)game
Chinese Mandarin 疊疊樂 /叠叠乐
  • 疊疊樂 /叠叠乐 (diédiélè)game
Danish klodsmajor
  • klodsmajorgame
Finnish huojuva torni
  • huojuva tornigame
Japanese ジェンガ
  • ジェンガ (Jenga)game
Korean 젠가
  • 젠가 (Jen'ga)game
Portuguese treme-torre
  • treme-torregame
Cite this entry
APA

Jenga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jenga

MLA

“Jenga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jenga. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jenga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jenga.

Source: Jenga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.