piece
a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land;a piece of chocolate.
a quantity of some substance or material forming a single mass or body: a nice piece of lumber.
a more or less definite portion or quantity of a whole: to cut a blueberry pie into six pieces.
a particular length, as of certain goods prepared for the market: cloth sold by the piece.
an amount of work forming a single job: to be paid by the piece and not by the hour.
an example of workmanship, especially of artistic production, as a picture or a statue: The museum has some interesting pieces by Picasso.
a literary or journalistic composition, usually short, in prose or verse.
a literary selection for recitation: Each child had a chance to recite a piece.
a musical composition.
one of the parts that, when assembled, form a whole: the pieces of a clock.
an individual article of a set or collection: a set of dishes containing 100 pieces.
Games.
one of the figures, disks, blocks, or the like, of wood, plastic, ivory, or other material, used in playing a board game.
(in chess) a king, queen, bishop, knight, or rook; a superior man or figure, as distinguished from a pawn: One of the opening principles in chess is piece development.
a token, charm, or amulet: a good-luck piece.
an individual thing of a particular class or kind: a piece of furniture;a piece of drawing paper.
an example, specimen, or instance of something: a fine piece of workmanship.
one of the parts into which a thing is destructively divided or broken; a part, fragment, or shred: to tear a letter into pieces.
Informal.
a rifle, pistol, or other small firearm.
a cannon or other unit of ordnance: Each field piece was drawn by six horses.
a coin: a five-cent piece.
Midland and Southern U.S. a distance: I'm going down the road a piece.
Chiefly North Midland U.S. a snack.
Also called piece of ass .Slang: Vulgar.
Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a person, usually a woman, considered as a sexual partner.
sexual intercourse: He's always looking for piece of ass.
to mend (a garment, article, etc.) by adding, joining, or applying a piece or pieces; patch.
to complete, enlarge, or extend by an added piece or something additional (often followed by out): to piece out a library with new books.
to make by or as if by joining pieces (often followed by together): to piece a quilt;to piece together a musical program.
to join together, as pieces or parts: to piece together the fragments of a broken dish.
to join as a piece or addition to something: to piece new wire into the cable.
to assemble into a meaningful whole by combining available facts, information, details, etc.: He pieced the story together after a lot of effort.
Chiefly North Midland U.S. to eat small portions of food between meals; snack.
Idioms about piece
give someone a piece of one's mind. mind (def. 39).
go to pieces,
to break into fragments.
to lose control of oneself; become emotionally or physically upset: When he flunked out of medical school he went to pieces.
of a piece, of the same kind; harmonious; consistent.: Also of one piece.
piece of the action. action (def. 23).
piece of work, an extraordinary person, especially one who has extremely negative qualities: She's a nasty piece of work!
speak one's piece, to express one's opinion; reveal one's thoughts upon a subject: I decided to speak my piece whether they liked it or not.
Origin of piece
1synonym study For piece
usage note For piece
word story For piece
The American colloquialism wanna get a piece of me? (a challenge to a fight) dates back to 1953; piece in the derogatory sense “girl or woman (regarded as a sex object)” dates back to the 16th century; piece of ass to 1857; and (nasty) piece of work dates from the 18th century.
Other words for piece
Opposites for piece
Other words from piece
- mul·ti·piece, adjective
- un·pieced, adjective
Words that may be confused with piece
- peace, piece
Words Nearby piece
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use piece in a sentence
“It was ludicrous,” she said of the piece, which ran in June.
Former Pence aide says she will vote for Biden because of Trump’s ‘flat out disregard for human life’ during pandemic | Josh Dawsey | September 17, 2020 | Washington PostLikewise, I may update this piece as more information becomes available.
Want to fight climate change effectively? Here’s where to donate your money. | Sigal Samuel | September 17, 2020 | VoxYou start with a theory of small pieces, say the atoms in a billiard ball.
How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics | Charlie Wood | September 17, 2020 | Quanta MagazineWhat to remember when casting your ballotThe most important piece of advice you’ll need when voting, early or not, is to follow directions carefully.
Why you should vote as early as possible (and how to do it) | John Kennedy | September 17, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSo some of the people I spoke to while reporting this piece explained that there are some inconsistencies between the decree that brought in this database and the data sharing and the new data law, the LGPD.
Podcast: COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state | Anthony Green | September 16, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
The well, ghost or no ghost, is certainly a piece of history with a bold presence.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion | Nina Strochlic | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTMy doctor insisted that once I filed this piece I lie down on my bed and not get out.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 | Vicky Ward | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTLast March they gave Airbus a huge piece of new business, ordering 169 A320s and 65 of the slightly larger A321.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501 | Clive Irving | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe attempt to “breed back” the Auroch of Teutonic legend was of a piece with the Nazi obsession with racial purity and eugenics.
However, an article designed to act as a tie-in to the piece has been published as planned in the BBC magazine Radio Times.
Pulled Documentary Says William Felt ‘Used’ by Charles’ Push for Camilla | Tom Sykes | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI assure you, no matter how beautifully we play any piece, the minute Liszt plays it, you would scarcely recognize it!
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayI was busy loading the piece when an exclamation of surprise from one of the men made me look up.
There were two battalions, together about a thousand men; and they brought a field-piece with them.
She got up and stood in front of the fire, having her hand on the chimney-piece and looking down at the blaze.
Confidence | Henry JamesWith a groan, wrung from the very depths of his heart, he tossed the man a gold-piece; another to the woman.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for piece
/ (piːs) /
an amount or portion forming a separate mass or structure; bit: a piece of wood
a small part, item, or amount forming part of a whole, esp when broken off or separated: a piece of bread
a length by which a commodity is sold, esp cloth, wallpaper, etc
an instance or occurrence: a piece of luck
slang a girl or woman regarded as an object of sexual attraction: a nice piece
an example or specimen of a style or type, such as an article of furniture: a beautiful piece of Dresden china
informal an opinion or point of view: to state one's piece
a literary, musical, or artistic composition
a coin having a value as specified: fifty-pence piece
a small object, often individually shaped and designed, used in playing certain games, esp board games: chess pieces
a firearm or cannon
(in combination): fowling-piece
any chessman other than a pawn
US and Canadian a short time or distance: down the road a piece
Scot and English dialect
a slice of bread or a sandwich
a packed lunch taken to work, school, etc
(usually plural) Australian and NZ fragments of fleece wool: See also oddment (def. 2)
give someone a piece of one's mind informal to criticize or censure someone frankly or vehemently
go to pieces
(of a person) to lose control of oneself; have a breakdown
(of a building, organization, etc) to disintegrate
nasty piece of work British informal a cruel or mean person
of a piece of the same kind; alike
piece of cake informal something easily obtained or achieved
(often foll by together) to fit or assemble piece by piece
(often foll by up) to patch or make up (a garment) by adding pieces
textiles to join (broken threads) during spinning
Origin of piece
1- See also piece out
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with piece
In addition to the idioms beginning with piece
- piece by piece
- piece of ass
- piece of cake
- piece of change
- piece of one's mind
- piece of the action
- piece together
also see:
- all in one piece
- conversation piece
- go to pieces
- museum piece
- of a piece
- pick apart (to pieces)
- pick up the pieces
- puff piece
- say one's piece
- think piece
- thrill to pieces
- to pieces
- villain of the piece
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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