piece
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: pēs
ipa: /piːs/
rhymes: -iːs
homophone: peace
Forms: form: pieces
form: peece
Etymology: From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”); doublet of English fit, fytte, fytt (“musical piece, chapter”), Icelandic fit (“web”), German Fitze (“skein”), from Old High German *fitjâ. Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.
Senses: examples: text: Near-synonyms: aspect, portion
text: I’d like another piece of pie.
text: I've lost a piece of this jigsaw puzzle.
text: No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]
ref: 1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, pages 415–416:
synonyms: component
part
glosses: A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
examples: text: a piece of machinery
text: a piece of software
text: a useful piece of advice
text: "Squalled at me that she owned the business and that she wouldn't take any back talk from me and that the piece wasn't for sale. What could I do?"
ref: 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 156:
text: [The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […]
ref: 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
glosses: A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
examples: text: Pawns, unlike pieces, move only in one direction: forward.
ref: 1959, Hans Kmoch, Pawn Power in Chess, section I:
text: It is not permitted to move a piece to a square occupied by a piece of the same colour. […] Consequently, in the initial position the white pieces and pawns are placed on the first and second ranks; the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.
ref: 2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, pages 4, 21:
topics: board-games
chess
games
synonyms: game piece
glosses: One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; (by extension) those with which draughts, backgammon, and other similar board games are played.
examples: text: a sixpenny piece
glosses: A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
examples: text: She played two beautiful pieces on the piano.
synonyms: word: composition
word: musical composition
word: musical piece
word: musical work
word: piece
word: piece of music
word: work of music
glosses: An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
examples: text: Today's paper has an interesting piece on medical research.
text: No, I didn't read the piece on China's faceless masses, I was, I was checking out the lingerie ads.
ref: 1979, Woody Allen, Manhattan, spoken by Isaac Davis (Woody Allen):
glosses: An article published in the press.
examples: text: […] all our Ammunition was spent. Those of us who had Money made Slugs of it; their next Shift was to take the middle Screws out of their Guns, and charge their Pieces with them.
ref: 1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 55:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: An artillery gun.
examples: text: He's packin' a piece!
text: I wanted peace, but now my piece is clearing out the block.
ref: 2005, “Bloody War”, in Certified, performed by David Banner:
text: It was do or be done. Get or get gotten. It was self-preservation like I'd never felt before, and when Rome passed me his piece I didn't even hesitate as I raised that bitch in the air and aimed it at Vyreen.
ref: 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 116:
text: "This is just a cover story," Clay says to O5-8, not taking his eyes off Marion. "It's a good one, but she's had it worked out in advance."
"Clay, lose the piece," says the O5.
Grudgingly, Clay does so.
ref: 2008–2021, qntm, “We Need To Talk About Fifty-Five”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 9:
glosses: A gun.
examples: text: The announcer is wearing a new piece.
qualifier: short for hairpiece
glosses: A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.
examples: text: My grannie came and gived them all a piece and jam and cups of water then I was to bring them back out to the street and play a game.
ref: 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 46:
glosses: A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
examples: text: I got a piece at lunchtime.
glosses: A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
examples: text: Ugh, my new computer is such a piece. I'm taking it back to the store tomorrow.
qualifier: short for piece of crap/piece of shit
glosses: A shoddy or worthless object (usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances).
glosses: A cannabis pipe.
examples: text: he got a piece of that one; she got a piece of the ball[…]and it's going foul.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Used to describe a pitch that has been hit but not well, usually either being caught by the opposing team or going foul. Usually used in the past tense with get.
examples: text: If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him.
ref: a. 1587 (date written), Phillip Sidney [i.e., Philip Sidney], An Apologie for Poetrie. […], London: […] [James Roberts] for Henry Olney, […], published 1595, →OCLC; republished as Edward Arber, editor, An Apologie for Poetrie (English Reprints), London: [Alexander Murray & Son], 1 April 1868, →OCLC:
text: Thy mother was a piece of virtue.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
text: His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.
ref: 1825, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aid to Reflection:
glosses: An individual; a person.
examples: text: Then enteryng into league with Philip the French king, he receyued againe all the holdes and peeces which his father had loſt a little before, […]
ref: 1569, Richard Grafton, “The Seuenth Age, and Seuenth Part of this Chronicle”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume I, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, page 83:
text: the ranſack of that peece
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XIV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: A castle; a fortified building.
synonyms: word: binky
word: bink
word: bo-bo
word: comforter
word: dodie
word: dummy
word: nookie
word: paci
word: piece
word: pippy
word: soother
glosses: A pacifier; a dummy.
examples: text: a far piece
text: located a fair piece away from their camp
text: a fair piece off
glosses: A distance.
examples: text: At practice we rowed four 5,000 meter pieces.
text: That last piece was torture.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
rowing
sports
glosses: A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
glosses: An amount of work to be done at one time; a unit of piece work.
examples: text: In fact, that was back during the era when you could buy a piece of heroin, an ounce of heroin, for $500 and cut it three times for a 3-to-1 cut on it and the dope would still be good.
ref: 2017, Matt Meyer, Déqui Kioni-Sadiki, Sekou Odinga, Look for Me in the Whirlwind:
glosses: An ounce of a recreational drug.
Synonyms: word: bit
word: chip
word: chunk
word: clip
word: crumb
word: crumbling
word: cutting
word: flake
word: fleak
word: fragment
word: hunk
word: lump
word: mammock
word: ort
word: piece
word: piecemeal
word: portion
word: scrap
word: scraplet
word: slice
word: snead
word: snippet
word: steck
Hypernyms: word: part
Hyponyms: word: shard
word: sliver
word: splinter
word: shivereens
word: smithereens
word: smithers
word: excerpt
word: extract
word: passage
word: cotchel
word: debris
word: drop
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: afterpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: all in one piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: altarpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: apiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: apieces
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: arm-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: armpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: artpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: backpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: bail-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: bailpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: battle piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: bedpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: bits and pieces
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: bonnet piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: broadpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: by the piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: cane piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: centerpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: centrepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: character piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: cheekpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chess-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chess piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chestpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chimneypiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chimney piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chimney-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: chinpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: codpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: conepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: conversation piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: cornerpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: counterpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: court piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: cream puff piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: creampuff piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: crosspiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: crownpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: crown piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: depiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: differential piece work
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: dime piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: doating-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: dome-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: dome piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: earpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: end piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: eyepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: eye-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: face piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: fashioning piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: fashion piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: fieldpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: flowerpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: forepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: fourpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: fowling piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: franc-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: frontipiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: frost piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: furpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: ghost piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: give someone a piece of one's mind
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: gold piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: go to pieces
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: hairpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: handpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: haute piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: haute-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: headpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: heavy piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: heelpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: hit-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: hit piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: hold one's piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: how long is a piece of string
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: H-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: in one piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: interpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: Jesus piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: journeyman's piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: kneepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: lace piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: legpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mailpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mainpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: major piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mantelpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mantel-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: masking piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: master-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: masterpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: midpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: minor piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: missing piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mistresspiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: modesty piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: money piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mood piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mourning piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: mouthpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: multipiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: museum piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: namepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: neckpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: nightpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: nose piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: nosepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: objective piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: of a piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: of a piece with
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: one-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: opinion piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: parcel
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: party piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: period piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece and crisps
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece bag
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece-bag
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece broker
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece by piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece de resistance
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece-dye
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece goods
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: pieceless
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piecemeal
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piecen
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of art
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of ass
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of cake
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of clothing
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of crap
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of crumpet
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of eight
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of furniture
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of garbage
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of goods
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of ground
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of homework
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of junk
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of luck
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of meat
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of one
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of paper
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of piss
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of poop
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of pork
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of rubbish
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of shit
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of shite
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of someone
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of tail
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of the action
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of the pie
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of the puzzle
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of trash
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece of work
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece picking
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piecer
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece rate
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece system
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece table
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece to camera
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece up
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piecewise
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piecework
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: piece work
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: pieceworker
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: pitching piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: playing piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: playpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: pocket piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: polepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: pole piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: puff piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: raising piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: reason piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: return piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: ridgepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: ringpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: say one's piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: sea piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: sea-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: seapiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: set piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: set-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: shoulder piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: showpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: side piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: sidepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: siege piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: slam piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: solepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: Staunton piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: straining piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: stringpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: summer-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: tailpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: ten piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: testpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: think piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: thought piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: three-piece suit
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: three-piece suite
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: thumbpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: time-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: timepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: toepiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: top piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: toppiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: tosspiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: touch piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: T-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: trend piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: two-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: two-piece sleeve
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: valley piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: vent-piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: volant piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: wall piece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: workpiece
sense: Terms derived from piece (noun)
word: you want a piece of me
Related terms: word: chunk
word: bit
word: peace
word: asunder
word: broken
word: board game piece
word: modicum