piecework

[ pees-wurk ]

noun

1. work done and paid for by the piece.

piecework

/ ˈpiːsˌwɜːk /

noun

1. work paid for according to the quantity produced Compare timework

Other Words From

• pieceworker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of piecework¹

First recorded in 1540–50; piece + work

Example Sentences

Many receive a piecework rate, or are simply trying to raise enough to subsist on, he points out.

From Science Daily

Bennett credited his mother, Anna, with teaching him a valuable lesson as he watched her working at home, supporting her three children as a seamstress doing piecework after his father died.

From Washington Times

In the stack of military uniforms piled in a corner and waiting to be mended, Khoury opens a window on the mindless piecework an urbane woman such as Afiya must undertake.

From Washington Post

Each morning, Mr. Xie elbowed through nearly standstill crowds of job seekers to haggle with factory bosses over ever-lower rates for piecework, like finishing the hems on a shirt, or the pleats on a skirt.

From New York Times

Incentive programs — like piecework pay for factory workers, stock options for top executives and commissions for salespeople — don’t tend to produce lasting changes in people’s behavior, Kohn argued.

From Washington Post