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”). Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.
A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
Near-synonyms: aspect, portion
I’d like another piece of pie.
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I've lost a piece of this jigsaw puzzle.
No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]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:
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A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
a piece of machinery
a piece of software
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a useful piece of advice
"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?"1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 156:
[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, […]2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
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Board games, Chess, Games 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.
Pawns, unlike pieces, move only in one direction: forward.1959, Hans Kmoch, Pawn Power in Chess, section I:
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.2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, pages 4, 21:
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A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
a sixpenny piece
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An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
She played two beautiful pieces on the piano.
period piece
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Now, his pieces are in the collections of institutions like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Met, where they operate the way Frey always intended: as works of art.2026 May 23, Hannah Martin, “Fancy Baskets”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 97:
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An article published in the press.
Today's paper has an interesting piece on medical research.
No, I didn't read the piece on China's faceless masses, I was, I was checking out the lingerie ads.1979, Woody Allen, Manhattan, spoken by Isaac Davis (Woody Allen):
[…] 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.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:
I wanted peace, but now my piece is clearing out the block.2005, “Bloody War”, in Certified, performed by David Banner:
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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.2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 116:
"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.2008–2021, qntm, “We Need To Talk About Fifty-Five”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 9:
Ireland, Scotland, UK, US, Dialectal A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
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.2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 46:
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US, Colloquial, Vulgar A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
I got a piece at lunchtime.
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US, Colloquial, Mildly, Vulgar A shoddy or worthless object (usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances).
Short for piece of crap/piece of shit
Ugh, my new computer is such a piece. I'm taking it back to the store tomorrow.
Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports 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.
he got a piece of that one; she got a piece of the ball[…]and it's going foul.
If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him.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:
Thy mother was a piece of virtue.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]:
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His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.1825, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aid to Reflection:
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, […]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:
the ranſack of that peece1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XIV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
I never did believe that he was in it. He's a piece too mean-spirited to have the nerve.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rowing, Sports A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
At practice we rowed four 5,000 meter pieces.
That last piece was torture.
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An amount of work to be done at one time; a unit of piece work.
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.2017, Matt Meyer, Déqui Kioni-Sadiki, Sekou Odinga, Look for Me in the Whirlwind:
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”). Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.
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Usually, With together To assemble (something real or figurative).
These clues allowed us to piece together the solution to the mystery.
His adversaries […] pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him.1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
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To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; often with out.
to piece a garment
You have broke it, cousin: and , by my life , you shall make it whole again ; you shall piece it out with a piece of your performancec. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
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Slang To produce a work of graffiti more complex than a tag.
“It didn't rain, so I decided to come piece with you.[…]” We never finished that piece.1994, William Upski Wimsatt, Bomb the Suburbs, revised second edition, Chicago: The Subway and Elevated Press Company, →ISBN, page 7:
It is incorrect to say that toys tag and masters piece; toys just do bad tags, bad throw-ups, and bad pieces.2009, Gregory J. Snyder, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground, page 40:
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It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans for bombing and piecing.2009, Scape Martinez, GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti, page 124:
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Dated, Informal, Often, With on To eat small quantities of food between meals; to snack; to take small or intermittent bites at a food item.
Chiefly North Midland US
There he was, piecing on the ham.1941, Eudora Welty, “Why I Live at the P.O.”, in A Curtain of Green, page 104:
Do not piece between meals.c. 1950, Kansas State Board of Health, Division of Maternal and Child Health Nutrition Service publication, "Proper food before the baby comes", State Library of Kansas, page 2:
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“Piecing” between meals often means eating sweet crackers, candy, or sweet beverages at almost any hour. These taste good but spoil the appetite for more desirable foods. What's eaten between meals should make a real contribution to daily food intake: fruit, or tomato juice, or a small glass of milk, a small peanut butter or cheese sandwich and the like are good choices. And a mid-morning or mid-afternoon pick-up does not interfere with appetite as irregular nibbling or piecing does.1956, United States Children's Bureau publication, Your Child from One to Six, US Government Publishing Office, page 46: