Tetris

Meanings

1. A puzzle video game in which falling tetrominoes must be manipulated to form complete lines, which are then cleared from the grid.
2. An endeavor involving rearranging things of different shape into a physical space.

1. The act of clearing four lines at once (the maximum possible) in Tetris.

1. To arrange items in a constrained space.

Etymology

From Russian Те́трис (Tétris), coined by the creator of the game, Alexey Pajitnov, from the Russian numerical prefix тетра- (tetra-, “tetra-”) (as all of the game's pieces contain four segments) and те́ннис (ténnis, “tennis”), his favourite sport.