piece

(pēs)

1. A thing considered as a unit or an element of a larger thing, quantity, or class; a portion: a piece of string.

2. A portion or part that has been separated from a whole: a piece of pie.

3. An object that is one member of a group or class: a piece of furniture.

4. An artistic, musical, or literary work or composition: "They are lively and well-plotted pieces, both in prose" (Tucker Brooke).

5. An instance; a specimen: a piece of sheer folly.

6. What one has to say about something; an opinion: speak one's piece.

7. A coin: a ten-cent piece.

8. Games

a. One of the counters or figures used in playing various board games.

b. Any one of the chess figures other than a pawn.

9. Slang A firearm, especially a rifle.

10. Informal A given distance: "There was farm country down the road on the right a piece" (James Agee).

tr.v. pieced, piec·ing, piec·es

1. To mend by adding pieces or a piece to: piece a dress.

2. To join or unite the pieces of: He pieced together the vase. She pieced together an account of what had gone on during the stormy meeting.

Idioms:

a piece of (one's) mind

Frank and severe criticism; censure.

of a piece

Belonging to the same class or kind.

piece by piece

In stages: took the clock apart piece by piece.

piece of ass Vulgar Slang

A person, especially a woman, considered sexually attractive.

piece of cake

Informal Something very easy to do.

piece of the action Slang

A share of an activity or of profits: "a piece of the action in a Florida land deal" (Shana Alexander).

piece of work

A remarkable person, achievement, or product: "He's a very tough piece of work" (Ted Koppel).

[Middle English pece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pettia, probably of Celtic origin.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

piece of work - a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing; "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time"

work

followup, follow-up - a piece of work that exploits or builds on earlier work; "his new software is a follow-up to the programs they started with"

handcraft, handicraft, handiwork, handwork - a work produced by hand labor

ironwork - work made of iron (gratings or rails or railings etc); "the houses had much ornamental ironwork"

lacework - work consisting of (or resembling) lace fabric

lacquerware - a decorative work made of wood and covered with lacquer and often inlaid with ivory or precious metals

leatherwork - work made of leather

chef-d'oeuvre, masterpiece - the most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman

metalwork - the metal parts of something; "there were bullet holes in the metalwork"

openwork - ornamental work (such as embroidery or latticework) having a pattern of openings

polychrome - a piece of work composed of or decorated in many colors

product, production - an artifact that has been created by someone or some process; "they improve their product every year"; "they export most of their agricultural production"

silverwork - decorative work made of silver

caning, wickerwork, wicker - work made of interlaced slender branches (especially willow branches)

woodwork - work made of wood; especially moldings or stairways or furniture

work in progress - a piece of work that is not yet finished

workpiece - work consisting of a piece of metal being machined

publication - a copy of a printed work offered for distribution