piece1 nounpiece2 verb
piecepiece1 /piːs/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINpiece1
Origin:
1100-1200 Old French, Vulgar Latin pettiaEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a piece of paper
- a beautifully made piece of furniture
- a pack of chicken pieces
- a simple boat made from a few pieces of wood
- a truly impressive piece of Greek sculpture
- Another typical piece of Owen's work is the poem, 'The Sentry'.
- One of the pieces in Greene's sculpture collection is valued at $12,000.
- Our satellite dish has a piece broken off of it.
- Some of the jigsaw pieces are missing.
- The books were eagerly borrowed and well used, and they finally fell to pieces.
- The collection includes pieces in both oils and watercolours, with a range of still life paintings.
- The concert began with three short pieces by the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos.
- The equipment had to be taken apart and transported in pieces.
- The old wreck had been smashed to pieces on the island's rocks.
- The Times did a nice piece on the illegal gambling.
- The vase lay in pieces on the floor.
- There were pieces of broken glass all over the road.
- Tim cut the pie into eight pieces.
- And indeed it was something very different - the bones of a human skeleton, a few pieces of clothing still on it.
- But finally Helen had crumpled her last piece of newspaper.
- Crude as Farley plays it, his endearing-blowfish persona is quite a piece of work.
- Harry wanted to take the little blonde piece and jive with her.
- If you want a piece, indicate by saying yes.
- Taking a page from the Netscape playbook, Microsoft is giving away key pieces of Internet software.
- The position of the piece of gravel would have made it virtually impossible for the fish to dislodge it.
- When a piece of quicklime was held in the tip of the flame it became white hot and glowed brilliantly.
THESAURUS
an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part: · Could I have another piece of cake?· a piece of broken glass· Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces: · The notes were written on bits of paper.· He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape: · two lumps of sugar· a lump of coal· a lump of clay
a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed: · I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.· The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc: · a strip of cloth· The leather had been cut into strips.
a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal: · a blank sheet of paper· a sheet of aluminium
a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece: · a slice of pizza· Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal: · The fruit was cut into large chunks.· a chunk of bread
a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc: · a big hunk of cheese· hunks of concrete
a piece of something solid, which has straight sides: · concrete blocks· a block of cheese· a block of ice
a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc: · The floor had been made from stone slabs.· a slab of beef
a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food: · a cube of sugar· ice cubes
a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal: · a wedge of cheese
a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides: · a chocolate bar· a bar of soap· gold bars worth more than £26 million
British English a slice of bacon: · I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.
a small piece a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hard: · The window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.· They found fragments of bone.
a very small piece of bread, cake etc: · There were just a few crumbs left on the plate.
a piece of something such as dirt or dust which is so small you almost cannot see it: · She brushed the specks of dust from the table.
a very small amount of a liquid: · There were drops of blood on the floor.· I felt a drop of rain.
Longman Language Activatora part of something that has been separated from the rest an amount of something that has been broken, cut, or separated from something larger: · a pack of chicken piecespiece of: · There were pieces of broken glass all over the road.· a simple boat made from a few pieces of woodcut/break etc something into pieces: · Tim cut the pie into eight pieces.tear/break/smash etc something to pieces: · The old wreck had been smashed to pieces on the island's rocks.in pieces (=broken into many pieces): · The vase lay in pieces on the floor.fall to pieces: · The books were eagerly borrowed and well used, and they finally fell to pieces.
especially spoken a small piece of something: · I'd like to try that cake. Just give me a small bit please.bit of: · Have you got a bit of paper I can write your address on?little/small/tiny bits: · There were little bits of food all over the carpet.break/smash/blow etc something to bits: · There'll be a war, and we'll all be blown to bits!fall to bits British: · The jumper was very cheap - it'll probably fall to bits the first time I wear it.
a piece that has a regular shape a large solid piece of wood, stone, or ice that has straight sides: · Concrete blocks were used by most builders in the 1960s when constructing office buildings.block of: · The fish were lying on huge blocks of ice to keep them cold.cut something into blocks: · The ice was cut into blocks and stored in a special shed.
a solid object with six equal square sides: ice cube: · For a joke, he put an ice cube down the back of her dress.cube of: · She dropped a cube of sugar into her tea and stirred it with a spoon.cut/chop something into cubes: · Cut the melon into 2cm cubes and leave to soak in some port or red wine.
a thick, flat, heavy piece of something such as stone: stone/concrete/marble slab: · His grave is covered by a huge marble slab.slab of: · Slabs of concrete had been used to build a pathway for people to walk on.· The butcher's counter was covered in huge slabs of red meat and the air smelled of blood.
a fairly long, thick piece of something such as metal, soap, or chocolate: · We go through so much soap in our family that I buy about 10 bars a month.bar of chocolate/soap/gold: · I used to buy a bar of chocolate every day and give half to my friend.chocolate/candy/gold bar: · I helped him take the wrapper off his candy bar.· The gold bars were transported from the bank in an armored truck.
a piece that does not have a regular shape a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape: · a can of pineapple chunkschunk of: · A large chunk of plaster had fallen from the ceiling.· Peanut butter is best spread on chunks of crusty bread.cut/break etc something into chunks : · Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil them for 15 minutes.
a small piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape: · There are a lot of lumps in this sauce.lump of: · Throw a few more lumps of coal on the fire.· I was almost hit by a lump of rock that fell from the cliff.
a large, irregularly-shaped piece of something, especially food, that has been cut or torn from a bigger piece: hunk of meat/bread/cheese etc: · For lunch I had cheese with a hunk of bread and a glass of red wine.· Jack cut off a hunk of meat and handed it to Simon.
a piece of a thick liquid or soft substance, usually served from a spoon: dollop of: · He put a dollop of honey on his bread and spread it around with a knife.· Louise watched as the dollop of mashed potato fell onto her plate.
a thin flat piece a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal, usually with four straight sides: · Wrapping paper is sold in sheets or rolls.sheet of: · She decorated a sheet of mirrored glass with a few pressed flowers. · Sinks can be pressed from a single sheet of steel.
a thin flat piece of something such as cloth or paper: strip of: · You will need a strip of stiff cardboard to make this hat.cut/snip etc something into strips: · She then snipped the satin into thin strips.
a small narrow piece of paper, usually with information written on it: · The bank clerk handed me an official blue slip to sign.slip of: · Everyone who votes has to fill in a slip of paper in order to register.wage slipBritish /pay slip American (=a slip of paper that shows how much you have been paid): · I looked through my wallet for last month's wage slip.
a flat piece of glass which has been cut to the size of a window: pane of: · The bullet shattered two panes of glass.window pane: · I watched the rain as it pounded against the window pane.
a thin flat piece of food such as bread, meat, or cheese that has been cut from a bigger piece using a knife: · "Would you like some more toast?" "Just one more slice, please."slice of: · I admired the thick slices of plum cake arranged on the plate.cut/carve something into slices: · The beef was carved into slices so thin you could almost see through them.
a very small piece a very small hard piece of something such as sand or salt: · If you drop any rice you'll have to pick up every single grain.grain of: · You always end up with grains of sand in your food when you eat at the beach.· A few grains of the tablet are left at the bottom of the glass.
a very small, flat piece of something such as snow or skin, that breaks easily: · Her sunburnt skin was beginning to peel off in big flakes.flake of: · Large white flakes of snow fell upon the cold ground.· She brushed the flakes of dandruff from her shoulder.
a piece of dust, dirt etc that is so small you almost cannot see it: · She realized that the specks on his shirt were not dirt but blood.speck of: · The room looked immaculate, not a speck of dust anywhere.
a small piece of dirt, dust, mud etc, usually in the form of a small mark or spot, that can be seen on a surface: fleck of: · There were flecks of mud on my trousers after the walk in the woods.· By the time he'd finished painting the ceiling the whole floor was covered with flecks of red paint.
a very small piece of food such as bread or cake: · Put a plate under your chin to catch the crumbs.· Cameron quickly swallowed his coffee and bread, and wiped the crumbs from his mouth.breadcrumbs: · Roll the fish in breadcrumbs and grill it for half an hour.
a word meaning a very small piece of food, used especially in literature: · She had cleared her plate of every morsel.morsel of: · Two gulls were fighting over a morsel of food.
a small piece of something bigger a small piece of something bigger, such as cloth, dishes, or building materials. that has been broken or torn: · The bullet had pierced the bone, leaving behind fragments which the surgeon was unable to remove.fragment of: · He was piecing together torn fragments of a letter.· The excavation of a Roman town house revealed fragments of a mosaic floor.
a very small piece of something such as paper, cloth, or food that is no longer useful or needed: · The birds would eat any leftover food scraps.scrap of: · He scribbled a note on an old scrap of paper.· This quilt was lovingly made from scraps of material.
an extremely small, thin, and sharp piece of something such as wood, glass, or metal that was formed when the wood, glass, or metal was broken: · The doctor removed the small steel splinters that had lodged themselves in my leg in the explosion.splinter of: · The window smashed and splinters of glass flew everywhere.· She sucked so hard that she drew the splinter of wood out of her finger.
a small, irregularly-shaped piece of something such as wood or stone that remains after someone has been cutting or working with the wood or stone: · Wood chips covered the floor in the carpenter's workshop.chip of: · After the decorators had left there were chips of plaster all over the lobby.
the best part of something also the best bit British informal the best part of something such as an occasion, event etc: · The best part of the movie is the ending.· What was the best part of your vacation?
the best and most exciting part of something such as a journey, a film, or a period of time: · When I was young, Christmas was the highlight of the year.· We were looking forward to seeing the pyramids, which promised to be the highlight of our trip.
the best part of something, or the best moment of something: · The two days we spent in Granada were the high point of our trip.· Winning the 1994 World Championship was probably the high point of his career.
the best and most impressive part of something that someone has made, especially a meal: · And now for my pièce de résistance -- wild mushrooms cooked in red wine.
not broken or damaged not broken or damaged, in spite of being hit, dropped etc: · Despite the bombing, the house was still intact.· The toys have to be intact in their original boxes or they're not worth anything.· Our furniture survived the long journey more or less intact.
if something arrives or is moved in one piece , it does not get broken in spite of being moved: · I don't know how we got the piano down in one piece!· The china arrived all in one piece, thank God.
unable to control your feelings to become unable to control your feelings and become very angry or upset: · He made her so angry that she lost control and hit him.
uncontrollable emotions or actions are difficult or impossible to control: · Barbara was shaking with uncontrollable laughter.· At the mention of Hannah's name, he flew into an uncontrollable rage.
especially spoken to feel so excited, interested etc that you cannot control what you are saying or doing: · It's easy to get carried away and buy a lot of things that you don't need.· A few of the younger men got a bit carried away and started dancing on the tables.
especially spoken to be so upset or nervous that you cannot control what you are doing and cannot think sensibly: · I was so nervous in my driving test I just went to pieces.· Keeping busy was the only thing that kept her from going to pieces during the divorce.
to suddenly become very angry or upset, after you have been trying to stop yourself getting angry or upset for a long time: · Leroy finally snapped and attacked his tormentors.· Melanie Smithson, who is accused of murdering her husband, has claimed that she snapped after years of violence and abuse.somebody's patience snaps: · Charlotte's patience suddenly snapped.
if you give in to an emotion such as anger or unhappiness, you can no longer control that emotion: · She was determined not to give in to despair.· Miles struggled not to give in to his feelings of anger and hopelessness.
informal to suddenly get very angry or upset, so that you are no longer able to control what you say or do: · Pete just lost it completely and started shouting and screaming at us.
a piece of music an arrangement of musical notes that has been written by someone - use this about music without words: · The CD contains two pieces performed by the Tokyo String Quartet.· It's difficult to know ahead of time whether an audience will like a new piece of music.
a short piece of music with words for singing: · That's a pretty song - where did you learn it?· The song "Yesterday" is one of the most often recorded songs in the world.· In the evenings we'd sit around the campfire and sing songs.
a piece of music - use this when you are considering the way the music is written: · Stone's composition "Idaho" became a national hit when Benny Goodman recorded it for Columbia.· Zwilich's flute concerto was nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
a piece of music, especially a long classical one - use this in written or formal contexts: · The performance began with two of Mozart's early works.· Handel's "Messiah" is one of the most majestic musical works ever written.
a piece of popular music that forms part of a longer performance: · "The show's not very good." "We can leave after this number if you want."· Nell Carter also appeared and performed a couple of upbeat numbers.
a part of an object/substance/area · When you have filled in the form, keep the top part and send the other part to the bank.· All our replacement parts are guaranteed, if you have your car serviced with us each year.part of · What part of Russia are you from?· This is the widest part of the river.· Malaria is still common in many parts of Africa.
especially British, spoken a small part of an object or area: · 'Would you like a slice of cake?' 'I'll just have a little bit, please.'bit of: · the bit of the garden where the fruit trees are· I found some bits of glass in my sandwich.
one of several different parts that must be joined together to make something: · a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzlein pieces (=as separate pieces): · The equipment had to be taken apart and transported in pieces.
one of the separate parts of a machine or a system, that is necessary to make the machine or system work: · The factory makes aircraft engine components.· All the components should be tested before they are assembled.component of: · Gaining confidence is a major component of developing leadership skills.
one of the types of food that are used to make a dish or a meal: · Weigh all the ingredients before you start.· a list of ingredients· The main ingredients can be prepared and frozen in advance.ingredient for: · Coconut is a basic ingredient for many curries and other Asian dishes.
formal one of the chemical substances that something is made of: · Scientists have to break the compound down into its constituents in order to analyze it.constituent of: · Magnesium and sodium are the main constituents of salt.
a part of something larger, especially a part that is different from the other parts - used especially in a technical context: · Fuel is carried in the lower portion of the rocket.portion of: · Surgeons have had to remove portions of his stomach and intestine.· The research suggests we only use a small portion of our brains at any one time.
a part of something that is clearly different and separate from the other parts: section of: · The final section of this chapter will deal with recent developments.· First class seats are in the front section of the plane.· The disease spread through the poorer sections of the city.
a part of something such as a fruit, insect etc that is naturally divided, or a part of something that has been divided into separate, roughly equal parts: · Decorate the cake with orange segments.· An ant's body is divided into three distinct segments.segment of: · Each sales team targets its efforts at a particular segment of the general population.
to become separated into two different parts to become separated into different parts, usually in a natural way: · Hair conditioner helps your curls to separate.separate into: · The whole process separates quite naturally into three smaller stages.· As the milk turns sour, it separates into thick curds and watery liquid.separate from: · At this point, the satellite separates from its launcher.
to become separated into two or more parts or groups: · What happens when an atom splits?split into: · The class split into two. Half of us went to the museum and half to the cathedral.· When you electrolyse water it splits into hydrogen and oxygen.
to separate into several smaller parts: · In spring the icebergs begin to break up.· The crowd broke up slowly.break up into: · Eventually, the old ruling group broke up into a number of political parties.
if something is in pieces , it has been separated into pieces: · The table Alan was supposed to have put together was still in pieces when I arrived home.· Within a few minutes he had the car engine in pieces on the garage floor.
if something comes to pieces , it is designed so that it can be broken into its separate parts without being damaged: · The bed comes to pieces, so we can fit it in the car.
to separate something into two or more parts · This is a technique used to separate the components of a mixture.separate something into something · He sat at a desk, separating a pile of mail into "urgent' and "non-urgent'.
to separate something into a number of separate parts or things: divide something into something: · We divided the pizza into three and had a slice each.· Some of the big old houses have been divided into apartments.divide up something/divide something up: · He said that dividing up the company would make the units more profitable.
to separate something that used to be a single thing or a single group into two or more different parts: · Rutherford first split the atom on 3rd January 1919.split something in half/in two (=so that it makes two equal parts): · He split the company in half, and then sold both new companies to different buyers.split something into something (=into two, three etc parts): · For this exercise, I'm going to split the class into three groups.
to separate something into several smaller parts: break up something: · The police were attacked as they tried to break up the crowd.break something up: · If you have to give a long explanation, try to break it up.break something up into something: · You can break a subject up into sections and guide your learners through it one section at a time.
to separate something such as a report or a job into parts, especially in order to make it easier to understand or easier to do: break down something: · Try to break down the calculation and get the students to do it in stages.break something down: · If you find a piece of music hard to play, break it down into small sections and practise each one slowly.
to separate a machine, piece of equipment etc into parts: take something apart: · He'd shown her how to take a gun apart and clean it.take apart something: · He spends his time taking apart old clocks and watches.
to separate a large or complicated machine into parts, for example so that it can no longer be used or in order to make it easier to move, repair etc: · Jimmy was in the garage, dismantling his bike.· The first thing the soldiers did was to dismantle the enemy's surveillance equipment.
to separate something into pieces, especially in order to check for a fault or to clean it: · He took the toy to pieces to find out how it worked.· The parcel contained a gun that had been taken to pieces.
several things of different types use this when you are talking about two or more things of different types and you do not need to say what they are: · I threw a few things into a bag and ran to the car.somebody's things spoken (=the things that someone owns or that they are carrying with them): · She's coming back later to get her things.all sorts/kinds of things (=a lot of different types of things): · They sell furniture, toys, cards - all sorts of things.
informal spoken objects or possessions of different types: · I don't know how we're going to get all this stuff into the car.somebody's stuff: · You're not going to have a lot of time to pack up your stuff before you move.
spoken things that are not useful and should be thrown away, for example because they are old or broken: · I must clean out this cupboard - it's absolutely full of junk.· They have so much junk in their yard. It makes the neighborhood look awful.
several different things, especially small things that are not of much value: · In the drawer she found a photograph, an old hairbrush, and various other odds and ends.· Odds and ends that haven't sold have been drastically reduced in price.
also bits and bobs British informal a number of small objects that are all different from each other: · There are all sorts of bits and pieces in this box.· Do any of these bits and bobs belong to you?
a large number of different things which you need for a particular activity - you can often use this humorously : · The car is packed solid with all our camping paraphernalia.· She was charged with possessing drug paraphernalia.
a piece of work done by an artist, musician etc something such as a painting, film, book, or long piece of music produced by an artist, writer etc: · The painting is one of Picasso's earlier works.· A major new work by one of Poland's leading film directors will be shown next Saturday.work of art (=a painting or sculpture, especially a famous, important, or very valuable one): · The highest price paid for a work of art was the £30.2 million for Van Gogh's 'Irises'.complete works of somebody (=all the things that someone has produced): · the complete works of William Shakespeare
something that has been produced by an artist, musician, or writer, for example a painting or drawing or a short piece of music or writing: · The concert began with three short pieces by the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos.· The collection includes pieces in both oils and watercolours, with a range of still life paintings.piece of music/writing/work etc : · Another typical piece of Owen's work is the poem, 'The Sentry'.· a truly impressive piece of Greek sculpture
a piece of work that you have to do a specific piece of work that you have to do, often one that you are not paid for: · Repairing the roof -- that's going to be the biggest job.· Cleaning the car's one of my least favorite jobs.do a job: · Well, I must go now. I've lots of jobs to do around the house.do a good/nice/beautiful etc job (=do a job well): · I always take my car to York Street garage. They're expensive, but they do a good job.· Irene did a nice job on those clothes didn't she?get on with a job (=continue doing a job): · He didn't complain or criticize, he just got on with the job.odd jobs (=jobs of different kinds that are not regular): · He does odd jobs for people in his spare time.the job in/at hand (=the job you have to do at the moment): · Let's just concentrate on the job in hand, shall we?· She was upset, and found it difficult to keep her mind on the job at hand.
formal a piece of work that you have to do - use this especially about a difficult or unpleasant job, or about a specific part of your work: · One of the first tasks Eva set herself was learning the local language.impossible/difficult/arduous etc task: · The UN Peacekeeping Force faces an almost impossible task.· We knew what had to be done, but it wasn't an easy task.task of: · Recovery crews continued the grim task of retrieving bodies from the wreckage. face/begin/continue a task: · By 2001, we had begun the task of collecting the materials and information needed for the study.· This is one of the most difficult and complex tasks we face.perform a task/carry out a task: · Most of the workers did not have the skills required to perform the most basic tasks.· The massacre was never fully investigated because the police were incapable of carrying out the task.thankless task (=one that no one wants to do because they will get no satisfaction from it): · Who on earth would volunteer for such a thankless task?
a job that you have to do, either for your work or for yourself, especially things that you have to leave your office or house to do: · I'll pick the laundry up on Saturday -- I have some shopping to do anyway.· I've got some work to do this evening.
something that you have to do, especially something that involves writing or drawing and a lot of thinking: do/hand in/submit a piece of work: · Do you actually fail the year if you don't hand in a piece of work?· I've got a merit for every piece of work I've done.good/excellent etc piece of work: · I think this is a very fine piece of work and it deserves a first class mark.· Look at that piece of work and ask yourself the question -- 'Is this the best I can do?'
a piece of work that someone gives you to do, as part of your job or as part of your studies: · Bart's first assignment for the newspaper was to report on the French elections.· This is a really tough assignment, and I believe you're the only person who can handle it.finish/complete an assignment: · She stayed late to complete a class assignment.history/homework/school/military etc assignment: · Robin spent many lunch hours poring over her math assignments.· I eventually got a teaching assignment at Xibei.one-year/two week etc assignment: · 'I figure this will either make or break us,' Cheyne said of the 1-year assignment to get the camp up and running.
an unpleasant or boring job, especially one that you have to do regularly in your home: · Washing the kitchen floor was a daily chore, and it was the one I hated most.· When we opened the store, our ambition was to make shopping less of a chore, more of a pleasure.· When I got old enough I started to have chores around the house.do the/your chores (=do all the cleaning etc that needs doing in a home): · Michael, come on. Do your chores, bud.household chores (=chores in the home, such as cleaning or cooking): · Husbands should be prepared to do their share of the household chores.
a small job that you need to do or that someone has asked you to do, such as buying something, posting something, taking somebody to a place etc: do/run an errand (for somebody): · Before you disappear, I want you to do an errand for me.· Peter cleaned equipment, ran errands, answered the phone -- it was all routine.· I used to pick up her dry cleaning and run errands for her.
something that you have a responsibility to do, especially as a regular part of your job: · For the most part, there was not much to do, other than cleanup duty around the prison camp.· Part of a park ranger's official duties is to ensure public safety.· clerical and secretarial dutieshave a duty to do something formal: · Teachers have a duty to ensure that students are not injured whilst they are in their care.perform a duty: · And now I have a very pleasant duty to perform. I am going to present the prizes to the winning competitors.tour of duty (=a period of time that a soldier or other member of the armed forces spends in a particular place): · He recently completed a tour of duty in Seoul as assistant to the US ambassador there.
WORD SETSaesthete, nounagitprop, nounart gallery, nounartist, nounartwork, nounavant-garde, adjectivebaroque, adjectivecapture, verbceramics, nouncharacter, nounclassical, adjectiveclassicism, nouncompere, nouncontemporary, adjectiveconvention, nouncreative, adjectivecritical, adjectivecrossover, nouncubism, nouncultural, adjectiveculturally, adverbculture, nouncurator, nouncycle, noundrama, nouneisteddfod, nounepic, nouneponymous, adjectiveerotic, adjectiveerotica, nouneroticism, nounexhibit, verbexhibit, nounexhibition, nounexpress, verbexpression, nounexpressionism, nounextract, nounfictionalize, verbfigurine, nounfin de siècle, adjectiveflashback, nounformalism, nounfuturism, nounglaze, verbglaze, nounGothic, adjectivehandcrafted, adjectivehandicraft, nounhandmade, adjectivehigh priest, nounhistorical, adjectiveinterpretation, nounItalianate, adjectivelowbrow, adjectivemagnum opus, nounmarquetry, nounmasterpiece, nounmasterwork, nounmature, adjectivemedium, nounMFA, nounmiddlebrow, adjectiveminimalism, nounmotif, nounmuse, nounnarrator, nounnaturalism, nounneoclassical, adjectivenotice, nounoeuvre, nounoffering, nounopening, adjectiveopus, nounpan, verbparody, nounpastiche, nounpattern, nounpiece, nounpop art, nounportfolio, nounpostmodernism, nounprequel, nounpreview, nounproduce, verbproduction, nounrealism, nounrealistic, adjectiverehash, verbreview, nounreview, verbromantic, nounromanticism, nounroyalty, nounrubbish, nounsalon, nounscenario, nounscene, nounsensuous, adjectivesentimental, adjectivesequel, nounsequence, nounset piece, nounsetting, nounShakespearean, adjectiveshowing, nounskit, nounstory, nounstudio, nounstylistic, adjectivesurrealism, nounswansong, nounsynopsis, nountitle, nountrilogy, nountwo-dimensional, adjectiveuncut, adjectiveunexpurgated, adjectivevillain, nounwork, nounwork of art, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
She cut the cake into four equal pieces. Chop the potato into bite-sized pieces. The china dish lay in pieces on the floor. His father had taught him how to take a gun to pieces. The shelving comes to pieces (=divides into separate parts) for easy transport. The shower head just came to pieces (=broke into separate parts) in my hand. The fireplace was carefully dismantled piece by piece (=one part at a time). Let me give you a piece of advice. We’re witnessing a piece of history in the making. It really was an extraordinary piece of luck. some unusual pieces of sculpture Robert wrote a short piece on the earthquake. Cheer up. At least you’re still in one piece. Ring Mum and let her know we got here in one piece. And will foreign firms get a piece of the action? Have you change for a 50-cent piece?COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES sushi served in convenient bite-size pieces A bomb like that could blow you to bits. Chop the meat into small cubes. a piece of elastic I can’t think of a single piece of furniture in my house that I bought new. I tore the letter in two and threw the pieces in the fire. As he explained, another piece of the jigsaw fell into place. a piece of machinery Would you like another piece of apple pie? My nerves were shot to pieces after my driving test. Several cups fell to the floor and smashed to pieces. I need a piece of string to tie this package. tiny pieces of paper I had a piece of toast for breakfast.
She cut the cake into four equal pieces. Chop the potato into bite-sized pieces. The china dish lay in pieces on the floor. His father had taught him how to take a gun to pieces. The shelving comes to pieces (=divides into separate parts) for easy transport. The shower head just came to pieces (=broke into separate parts) in my hand. The fireplace was carefully dismantled piece by piece (=one part at a time). (=consisting of four, 60 etc separate parts) a five-piece band a three-piece suite (=two chairs and a sofa)
a five-piece band a three-piece suite (=two chairs and a sofa) Let me give you a piece of advice. We’re witnessing a piece of history in the making. It really was an extraordinary piece of luck. some unusual pieces of sculpture Robert wrote a short piece on the earthquake. Cheer up. At least you’re still in one piece. Ring Mum and let her know we got here in one piece. And will foreign firms get a piece of the action? Have you change for a 50-cent piece? (also a bit of advice informal)· Let me give you a piece of advice.
· How many pieces of baggage do you have?
sushi served in convenient bite-size pieces A bomb like that could blow you to bits.· Can I have another slice of bread?
· Would you like a slice of cake?
· Would you like a piece of cheese?
(=one that you move around the board)· Some of the chess pieces were missing.
(=a chicken breast, leg, thigh or wing)· You will need two chicken pieces per person.
· Would you like a piece of chocolate?
Chop the meat into small cubes.· There were pieces of clothing scattered around the room.
· Shall I cut you a slice of cake?
· Next cut the carrots into thin slices.
· Every single piece of data is important.
a piece of elastic· When you buy an expensive piece of equipment, you need to insure it.
· The study produced one interesting piece of evidence.
(=find out what actually happened in a situation)· The police are still piecing together the facts.
I can’t think of a single piece of furniture in my house that I bought new.· He cut his foot on a piece of glass.
· I’ve got an interesting piece of gossip which might interest you.
· I still have one piece of homework left to do.
I tore the letter in two and threw the pieces in the fire. (also an item of information formal)· He provided me with several useful pieces of information.
As he explained, another piece of the jigsaw fell into place. (=an area of land)· He built a house on a piece of land near the river.
· The most important piece of legislation was the Prevention of Fraud Act.
(=something good that happens by chance)· What a piece of luck that he arrived when he did!
a piece of machinery· It’s a beautiful piece of music.
(also a bit of news British English)· Leo thought about this piece of news carefully.
· Can I have another piece of paper?
Would you like another piece of apple pie?· We had to memorize a piece of poetry.
· The claim was a typical piece of Russian propaganda.
· A recent piece of research shows why marriages break up.
· His leg was trapped under a large lump of rock.
· This is a magnificent piece of sculpture.
My nerves were shot to pieces after my driving test. Several cups fell to the floor and smashed to pieces.· This excellent piece of software is compatible with both PCs and Macs.
I need a piece of string to tie this package. (=a large seat and two chairs)
· The dogs tore the meat to pieces.
(=very thrilled)
tiny pieces of paper I had a piece of toast for breakfast.· The pieces of wire he’d cut were too short.
· He made a bench out of pieces of wood.
· The fishermen were left clinging to pieces of wreckage.
· It's a brilliant piece of writing.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Situation: A is a teacher who told the class yesterday that an important piece of homework must be done that night.· The marketing department writes the really important pieces.· In this respect a particularly important piece of legislation is the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.· This is not a perfect collection, as too many important pieces of the Bird legacy are missing.· Disgorgers are a minor but very important piece of tackle.· Tires are probably the most important pieces of a car.· Perhaps the most important piece of advice of all is to trust your own instincts.· He offers two important pieces of advice about starting your own business.
· Don't worry if you can't buy any miniature marshmallows - cut the large ones into pieces with scissors.· When you add vinegar to milk, the small solid pieces clump together and form larger solid pieces.· We all took a large piece of the treasure, and some used it sensibly, and some did not.· Leaving a glowing trail over one thousand kilometers long, it broke into several large pieces as it progressed.· A large piece of whale blubber, bearing the marks of fleshing knives, has been discovered off west Falkland.· I called Socks and gave him a large piece of my mind.· Kendo then took the prey from Fitz, having let him tear out a large piece of the monkey's intestines.· Loomas' larger pieces are deceptively simple.
· He felt that this little piece of bad luck might affect his whole day.· The little pieces of white paper inside trembled like strips of packing excelsior.· Harry wanted to take the little blonde piece and jive with her.· Cut off a little piece and light it, it would heat up anything you wanted.· He managed to contain himself and somehow he got the hundred into the middle without shredding the notes into little pieces.· I played little pieces by Dussek and Clementi, and there was no real discipline involved; it was strictly for fun.· I think they're a good little piece of apparatus.· The little piece of moon, like a chip of eggshell, shone in the sky over us.
· A long, straight piece of road with no other traffic, and his car hit a tree.· Separate each oil-cured eggplant into 4 long pieces and arrange in star pattern on top of meat.· Obviously you will need a longer and wider piece of wood than the size of the cutlery blank.· I gave the ticket to a man with a cat tied to a long piece of red yarn.· I looked around the ship, and after a few minutes, I found some long pieces of wood.· Helen Appleton Read, the only woman critic to review the show, wrote a long piece in the Brooklyn Eagle.· Elliott: You need a long piece to go right round him.· Much better than a long piece of string!
· The ground shook and small pieces of earth rained down gently on their heads.· When you add vinegar to milk, the small solid pieces clump together and form larger solid pieces.· Add the oil and deep fry the pork, stirring with a spatula to break it into small pieces.· The victim still had a small piece of metal from the van in his leg, he added.· It was a small piece of shrapnel, but it did a number on the left cheek of my hind end.· Edward looked warningly at Helen and Helen heard herself say that there was a small piece of land.· By collision and gravitational attraction, the larger planetesimals swept up the smaller pieces and became the planets.
· He took the tiny piece of crumpled paper from his top pocket and unfolded it.· Every tiny piece of business is something it wants, as well it should for the sake of its stockholders.· The bomb detonated with a sharp crack, sending tiny but razor-sharp pieces of metal into the backs of the gun crews.· It made our hands and fingers itch, but the tiny pieces of red flesh were delicious.· Others were tiny pieces of polyvinyl-chloride insulated plastic covering, source identified.· The Hawk is a tiny piece of the Machine.· There was quite a good helping of pudding but only a tiny piece of meat.· Jakhaila Miracle Braxton is resting her 3-pound-something body on a tiny piece of sheepskin in an incubator at Mercy Hospital.
NOUN· We do not want fossilised museum pieces of countryside but communities with jobs and a living, dynamic and healthy social fabric.· Gluck was armed with an incredibly heavy musket, a single-shot museum piece with an octagonal barrel and a smooth bore.· Those that have are museum pieces.· Now the 1986 tax-revision measure that shut down shelters and closed some loopholes might best be called a museum piece.· But will I been seen as a museum piece by some?· All the planes are museum pieces, normally kept in a museum.· After all, these chairs were built to be used, not to be museum pieces.· He acknowledges that liturgy is not a museum piece but needs to evolve as part of a living tradition.
VERB· Then they broke the chair into pieces, agreeing to save the folding tables for a Christmas Day blaze.· She broke off a piece of baguette, spread it with butter and jam, stuffed it into her mouth.· Often projects are planned with an overall budget, not broken down into component pieces.· Add the oil and deep fry the pork, stirring with a spatula to break it into small pieces.· With remarkable poise, he quickly put the two broken pieces in one hand and made an attempt to paddle canoe-style.· But it was a home thrust, for the Dennison family was breaking in pieces.· Leaving a glowing trail over one thousand kilometers long, it broke into several large pieces as it progressed.
· This was cut from a piece of linen texture board and then backed with some cream silk.· It was in brick form like a pound of butter and you would cut off your own piece.· An arrow, cut into two pieces.· Decide how many pages you want. Cut pieces of paper into eight parts, making enough pages for your book.· Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?· Our sergeant ran in front of an artillery piece, and the beehive round cut him to pieces.· It wasn't too pretty. Cut to pieces with a whip, and almost decapitated.· Simon ducked his head, cut a piece of ravioli in half with his fork and put it in his mouth.
· It should fall out in one piece.· And then he fell into two pieces.· The metal bubbled for an eye-aching moment, and then the door fell in two pieces in the passage beyond.· After he left, I fell to pieces.· He hated playing agony aunt but he couldn't afford to have Hirschfeldt falling to pieces.· Supposing the union fell to pieces, these were the fracture lines along which it would naturally break.· The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.· The media seemed to be willing the marriage to fall to pieces.
· As proved by history, women are the ones who have to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of war.· He came over to me, picked up the piece of paper before me, and sat back down on the bed.· In her motherly concerned way, she was cosseting him as he tried to pick up the pieces of his life.· In the more stable area people were returning to pick up the pieces of their lives.· Upon release, however, he slowly picked up the pieces of his life and rebuilt his career.· He picked up a piece of paper with some writing on it, could not decipher the writing, and dropped it.· My life fell apart, but he had no trouble picking up the pieces and forged ahead with a new woman.
· Something that pulls all the pieces together.· He reached in and pulled out some crumpled pieces of paper.· I had pulled the two heavy pieces and wood across the entrance to the trench.· He pulled out the piece of paper upon which earlier I had signed my name.· She tried to regroup her scattered brain tissue, pulling back pieces of her mind before they were lost for ever.· He reached into his windbreaker and pulled out a piece of paper.· Make a small cut and then try to pull the gall to pieces bit by bit.· Four of them parody the fire brigade, pecking and pulling a piece of bread.
· Bought dinner and put a twenty-dollar gold piece on the table.· They will put the pieces together with Microsoft Powerpoint.· He put another piece of bread in his mouth and chewed.· A man put a 5p piece into the guitar case and then Alice put a lop piece in.· Because I had to take it apart afterwards and put all the pieces back where they were.· A man put a 5p piece into the guitar case and then Alice put a lop piece in.· With remarkable poise, he quickly put the two broken pieces in one hand and made an attempt to paddle canoe-style.
· If Hyde returns while I am writing this confession, he will tear it to pieces to annoy me.· He was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore him to pieces and devoured him.· And it's a myth that foxes are torn to pieces while still alive.· We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws.· Harald tore the passport into pieces.· Kendo then took the prey from Fitz, having let him tear out a large piece of the monkey's intestines.· The remains of the Con federate machinist who was torn to pieces were shoveled into buckets and thrown overboard.
· Coffin was still pondering on the significance of what he had seen written on the piece of paper from Place's jacket.· He also has written a piece that 100 percussionists will perform at the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympic Games.· The gifted local amateur occasionally writes a piece of enduring worth, and not all commissions involve an expensive financial transaction.· The marketing department writes the really important pieces.· He doubled back to tell Holly she had written a nice piece on Donaldson.· Top staff meetings at the White House and in the various agencies and departments are devoted to getting puff pieces written.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► be a piece of piss► across the piece► be a (real) piece of work► be a piece of shit/crap► piece of assPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► how long is a piece of string?► pick something to pieces
1- And having got under them, he can't half tear them to pieces.
- Brandon Thomas opted to unveil his Aunt away from London fearful that the capital's theatre critics would tear it to pieces.
- He was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore him to pieces and devoured him.
- I had been given the power to obliterate, to steal a body from its grave and tear it to pieces.
- If Hyde returns while I am writing this confession, he will tear it to pieces to annoy me.
- Telling me the strangest things sometimes, evil things - till I want to shout out or smash them to pieces.
- We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws.
- And having got under them, he can't half tear them to pieces.
- Brandon Thomas opted to unveil his Aunt away from London fearful that the capital's theatre critics would tear it to pieces.
- He was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore him to pieces and devoured him.
- I had been given the power to obliterate, to steal a body from its grave and tear it to pieces.
- If Hyde returns while I am writing this confession, he will tear it to pieces to annoy me.
- They will tear you to pieces.
- We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws.
- I don't know how we got the piano down in one piece!
- I was extremely relieved when my son came back from the warzone all in one piece.
- The china arrived all in one piece, thank God.
- Unlike Ed, Josh returned from the war in one piece.
- All she wanted was for me to come back in one piece.
- All you wanted to do was get out of it in one piece, go home, and get a job.
- At one point, maybe, it was when they arrived home in one piece from school.
- It should fall out in one piece.
- It would explain how Greg manages to be in one piece while the Lorelei is nothing but a few planks of driftwood.
- Lowering the tender took care and patience if they wanted to keep it in one piece.
- The fatty skin covering should easily lift off in one piece.
- When they get there the china cabinet is still in one piece but the budgie is dead.
- I was so mad that I called back and gave her a piece of my mind.
- If one of the kids is being sassy, Inez gives them a piece of her mind.
- Boy, am I going to give him a piece of my mind when I see him.
- But it was worth it, to give Hilda Machin a piece of her mind.
- I begin to pronounce the sequence of words and numbers that will prevent her from giving him a piece of her mind.
- Ready to give somebody a piece of her mind, Aunt Pat strode to the front door and flung it open.
- She'd give Gloria a piece of her mind when she got home!
- She managed to manoeuvre into the remaining space and got out to give somebody a piece of her mind.
- But there is no use pretending the Saturn-Pluto effect will be a piece of cake.
- Glacier walking is a piece of cake; well this bit was, with rolling hills of dazzling serenity.
- My bone marrow was harvested a couple of weeks ago and the whole thing was a piece of cake.
- Normally, walking along tarmac is a piece of cake after the rocky excursion along a ridge.
- Should be a piece of cake.
- That was a piece of cake compared to finding a square mile without an ad.
- The one he was allocated, Parky, a homely, Hoomey-sized bay, was a piece of cake compared with Bones.
- After five years in middle management, I'm ready for a real piece of the action.
- A police station, so help me, is a piece of the action.
- But the General wanted a piece of the action.
- But the real race is to adapt the superbike for road use before rivals grab a piece of the action.
- His successors never again ran the town, as he did, but they always had a piece of the action.
- It's not only the players who want a piece of the action.
- Nation shall speak peace unto nation, and I shall grab a piece of the action.
- Or did evil Uncle Humbert destroy it, because under the law he would then get a piece of the action?
- Will foreign firms get a piece of the action?
- But it really is all of a piece in the end.
- It was all of a piece with them.
- It was of a piece with the neglected timber, the weedy gravel and the minatory notices which guarded the bounds.
- Lehane does, but then that is of a piece with the rest of this marvellous book.
- Murray's sensitive readings of Marvell's poetry argue that the life is of a piece with the work.
- My body was all of a piece, it did not have any seams.
- If reforms are not carried out soon, the economy will simply fall to pieces.
- Stacy would fall to pieces if she knew Gary was cheating on her.
- The vase fell to pieces as soon as it hit the floor.
- After he left, I fell to pieces.
- As a result, now that the autumn rains were here, it was already showing signs of falling to pieces.
- He hated playing agony aunt but he couldn't afford to have Hirschfeldt falling to pieces.
- I suppose it's just about falling to pieces.
- Supposing the union fell to pieces, these were the fracture lines along which it would naturally break.
- The house was filthy, she realized, practically falling to pieces.
- The media seemed to be willing the marriage to fall to pieces.
- The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.
- I was so nervous in my driving test I just went to pieces.
- Keeping busy was the only thing that kept her from going to pieces during the divorce.
- When they lost the family business, Liz went to pieces.
- He was going to pieces inside, just as Lorton intended, and he didn't like it.
- I almost went to pieces in that room.
- It seems he goes to pieces in a crisis, then.
- That's perhaps why things began to go to pieces when the boy was born.
- The ship broke in half, tumbled over the precipice, and went to pieces.
- With their old taboos discredited, they immediately go to pieces, disintegrate, and become re-sorts of vice and disease.
- A police station, so help me, is a piece of the action.
- His successors never again ran the town, as he did, but they always had a piece of the action.
- If you want a slice of the action tickets may still be available on.
- If you want to get a slice of the action book early - no kidding.
- Nation shall speak peace unto nation, and I shall grab a piece of the action.
- Or did evil Uncle Humbert destroy it, because under the law he would then get a piece of the action?
- So how do you get a slice of the action?
- Will foreign firms get a piece of the action?
- Do any of these bits and bobs belong to you?
- making a mosaic out of bits and pieces of tiles
- There are all sorts of bits and pieces in this box.
- For the next two decades he made a sort of living finding bits and pieces of editing and translation work.
- Having chosen the size of guttering, draw up a list of the various bits and pieces you need.
- He circled the house, looking in, and saw nothing but the bits and pieces of ordinary living.
- My eyes adjusted, and things became edges, corners, bits and pieces of what they were.
- Not a single one had listened to it or even heard bits and pieces on the news.
- Storing the furniture and the bits and pieces we didn't need immediately was a bit more difficult.
- The bits of information range from play dates with friends to the sometimes frightening bits and pieces of domestic violence.
- Why teach in bits and pieces a subject which is a whole?
- Creating graphs is a piece of cake on the computer.
- Getting tickets to the game will be a piece of cake.
- But there is no use pretending the Saturn-Pluto effect will be a piece of cake.
- My bone marrow was harvested a couple of weeks ago and the whole thing was a piece of cake.
- Normally, walking along tarmac is a piece of cake after the rocky excursion along a ridge.
- Should be a piece of cake.
- That was a piece of cake compared to finding a square mile without an ad.
- The one he was allocated, Parky, a homely, Hoomey-sized bay, was a piece of cake compared with Bones.
- After he left, I fell to pieces.
- As a result, now that the autumn rains were here, it was already showing signs of falling to pieces.
- Being a super-duper well-'ard off-road jobbie, your machine can take a fair amount of punishment before falling to bits.
- He hated playing agony aunt but he couldn't afford to have Hirschfeldt falling to pieces.
- Supposing the union fell to pieces, these were the fracture lines along which it would naturally break.
- The media seemed to be willing the marriage to fall to pieces.
- The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.
- There's a difference between consciously colouring a passage and not being able to control a voice that is falling to bits.
- The walls were all dirty and the furniture was falling to pieces.
- But most of the material was falling to pieces.
- The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.
- There's a difference between consciously colouring a passage and not being able to control a voice that is falling to bits.
- They would blaze into prominence just as the foreground planting was falling to pieces.
- Cyril and Wyatt had gone around together with that other boy, that Donald, who was a nasty piece of work.
- You'd best steer clear of him, Manderley, he's a nasty piece of work.
- The town is beginning to pick up the pieces after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
- As proved by history, women are the ones who have to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of war.
- I picked up the pieces myself.
- In her motherly concerned way, she was cosseting him as he tried to pick up the pieces of his life.
- In the more stable area people were returning to pick up the pieces of their lives.
- It has already made behind-the-scenes preparations to share the job of picking up the pieces.
- Then the red mists cleared and she sank to her knees, picking up the pieces, moaning softly.
- This hopefully will cause them a fixture congestion around April/May with us hopefully been able to pick up the pieces.
- Whimper like a whipped puppy, Jay, have a drink and pick up the pieces.
- Smaller capitalist countries are maneuvering to gain a bigger share of the pie.
- That meant nearly one in five students was moderately to severely work-inhibited-a considerable slice of the pie.
- Virtually every academic institution, it seemed, wanted a piece of the pie.
- All the pieces of the puzzle were in place: it was time for a little conference.
- But what about the piece of the puzzle we have so far omitted?
- Fortunately, the next step in the research process supplied the missing piece of the puzzle.
- How television has changed is one piece of the puzzle.
- It's another piece of the puzzle.
- So he created a temporary scaffolding to get one piece of the puzzle going.
- Take me out of there, and you're taking away a big piece of the puzzle.
- The final pieces of the puzzle had now been slotted into place.
- He knew that he was clever and always wanted to say his piece in meetings.
- I was wondering what would happen when Dolly came out on to the stage and said his piece.
- Now I have come forward and said my piece.
- She'd come this far to say her piece and say it she would, come hell or high water.
- Sutton was allowed to say his piece.
- The horse-trading that lies ahead will end only when the three key players have said their piece.
- The rules state that you let a guy say his piece and you consider what he said.
- We each said our piece, each absolutely predictable.
- After all these years, I'd taken something to bits and successfully put it all back together again.
- Carter shrugged and fetching a, paraffin stove from inside a caravan began to take it to pieces.
- He learnt how to take a car to pieces.
- Most reputable dealers will take a computer to pieces for you.
- Operators decided to clean down equipment regularly, not just superficially, but by taking it to pieces.
- Unfortunately appearances has been misleading and heavy filling was found as they started to take it to bits.
- In the end the prosecutor's case was torn to shreds by Russell's lawyer.
- Male Siamese fighting fish will tear each other's fins to shreds.
- A shell had exploded in the body of one of them, tearing it to pieces; others were torn and wounded.
- And having got under them, he can't half tear them to pieces.
- He was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore him to pieces and devoured him.
- If Hyde returns while I am writing this confession, he will tear it to pieces to annoy me.
- They snarled at them as if they were criminals and took their papers as if they'd like to tear them to shreds.
- They will tear you to pieces.
- We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws.
- Within two years, other researchers had torn it to shreds.
- But to do so in this way was to make her appear the villain of the piece.
- But who is really the villain of the piece?
- Charles the Bald remained the villain of the piece.
- Nor do I regard the villains of the piece as the fighters themselves.
amount an amount of something that has been separated from the main partpiece of He broke off a piece of bread and gave it her. Cut off a piece of wood 5 cm in length. His trousers were held up with a piece of string. Would you like a small or a large piece?cut/divide etc something into pieces She cut the cake into four equal pieces. Chop the potato into bite-sized pieces.2part one of the parts that something divides or breaks intopiece of a piece of broken glass Individual pieces of text can be cut and pasted to their correct position.in pieces The china dish lay in pieces on the floor. jigsaw pieces His father had taught him how to take a gun to pieces. The shelving comes to pieces (=divides into separate parts) for easy transport. The shower head just came to pieces (=broke into separate parts) in my hand. The fireplace was carefully dismantled piece by piece (=one part at a time).► see thesaurus at part3single item a single thing of a particular type, or something that is one of several similar thingspiece of Pass me another piece of paper. You should eat three pieces of fruit a day. She was wearing a single piece of jewellery. You need to examine every piece of evidence first. an excellent piece of work a major piece of legislation a piece of equipmentfour-piece/60-piece etc (=consisting of four, 60 etc separate parts) a five-piece band a three-piece suite (=two chairs and a sofa)4small amount [usually singular] a small amount of something that is interesting, useful, or unusual in some waypiece of advice/information/gossip etc Let me give you a piece of advice. We’re witnessing a piece of history in the making.piece of luck/good fortune It really was an extraordinary piece of luck.5land an area of landpiece of a piece of waste ground a dispute about a piece of land6fall to pieces a)to become old and in bad condition: All my clothes are falling to pieces. They’ve let that lovely old house fall to pieces around them. b)to no longer be successful or working well: The economy is falling to pieces.7go to pieces if a person or what they do goes to pieces, they are so upset or nervous that they cannot live, work, or perform as they should: He just went to pieces after his wife died. Her performance goes to pieces when her father is watching.8smash/rip/tear something to pieces to damage something badly by breaking it into many parts: His arm was ripped to pieces by a shark. Wear thick gloves, otherwise you’ll tear your fingers to pieces.9pull/rip/tear somebody/something to pieces to criticize someone or their ideas very severely: Donna could tear your work to pieces, and frequently did.10art/music etc something that has been produced by an artist, musician, or writerpiece of music/writing/sculpture etc some unusual pieces of sculpture The LSO will perform a much-loved concert piece.► see thesaurus at music11news item a short article in a newspaper or magazine or part of a television or radio programme that is about a particular subjectpiece about/on Did you read that piece in ‘The Observer’ about censorship? Robert wrote a short piece on the earthquake.12in one piece informal if you arrive somewhere in one piece, you are not injured: Cheer up. At least you’re still in one piece. Ring Mum and let her know we got here in one piece.13give somebody a piece of your mind informal to tell someone that you are very angry with them: After the game he gave the players a piece of his mind.14be a piece of cake informal to be very easy to do: Landing this type of aircraft is a piece of cake for an experienced pilot.15be a piece of piss British English spoken not polite to be very easy to do16a piece of the action informal a share of the money from a business activity: And will foreign firms get a piece of the action?17be (all) of a piece a)if the things someone says or does are all of a piece, they are part of the typical behaviour of that personpiece with Sexist language is all of a piece with the way some men treat women. b)to be the same or similar in all parts: The architecture here is all of a piece.18money a)a coin of a particular valueten pence/50-cent etc piece Have you change for a 50-cent piece? b)old use a coin: Robert slipped two gold pieces into the man’s hand.19games a small object used in a game such as chess20gun American English informal a small gun21across the piece in all parts of an organization, system, activity etc SYN across the board: We will be making changes across the piece.22be a (real) piece of work spoken informal especially American English to be someone who does nasty things or deceives people in order to get what they want23be a piece of shit/crap spoken not polite used to show that you do not respect someone or something they say24piece of ass American English informal not polite an offensive expression for a woman. Do not use this expression. → how long is a piece of string? at long1(9)THESAURUSpiece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part: · Could I have another piece of cake?· a piece of broken glass· Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces: · The notes were written on bits of paper.· He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.lump a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape: · two lumps of sugar· a lump of coal· a lump of clayscrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed: · I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.· The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.strip a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc: · a strip of cloth· The leather had been cut into strips.sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal: · a blank sheet of paper· a sheet of aluminiumslice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece: · a slice of pizza· Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal: · The fruit was cut into large chunks.· a chunk of breadhunk a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc: · a big hunk of cheese· hunks of concreteblock a piece of something solid, which has straight sides: · concrete blocks· a block of cheese· a block of iceslab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc: · The floor had been made from stone slabs.· a slab of beefcube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food: · a cube of sugar· ice cubeswedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal: · a wedge of cheesebar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides: · a chocolate bar· a bar of soap· gold bars worth more than £26 millionrasher British English a slice of bacon: · I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.a small piecefragment a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hard: · The window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.· They found fragments of bone.crumb a very small piece of bread, cake etc: · There were just a few crumbs left on the plate.speck a piece of something such as dirt or dust which is so small you almost cannot see it: · She brushed the specks of dust from the table.drop a very small amount of a liquid: · There were drops of blood on the floor.· I felt a drop of rain.COLLOCATIONS CHECKlump of sugar/rock/metal/earthscrap of paperstrip of cloth/papersheet of paper/metal/glassslice of bread/pizza/cake/meatchunk of fruit/breadblock of ice/stone/woodslab of rock/stone/meatbar of soap/chocolate/candy/metalrasher of baconspeck of dirt/dustdrop of blood/rain/liquidpiece1 nounpiece2 verb
piecepiece2 ●○○ verb VERB TABLE
piece
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | piece |
| he, she, it | pieces | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | pieced |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have pieced |
| he, she, it | has pieced | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had pieced |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will piece |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have pieced |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am piecing |
| he, she, it | is piecing | |
| you, we, they | are piecing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was piecing |
| you, we, they | were piecing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been piecing |
| he, she, it | has been piecing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been piecing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be piecing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been piecing |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Accident investigators have been at the scene this morning trying to piece together what happened.
- He finished up trying to piece together what happened.
- He will not piece or parse.
- It took days, but finally they thought they had it pretty well pieced together.
- Organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous concern themselves with piecing together the casualties of addiction.
- Twenty-five years after Fernando's death, it was possible to piece together his skeleton in its entirety.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES sushi served in convenient bite-size pieces A bomb like that could blow you to bits. Chop the meat into small cubes. a piece of elastic I can’t think of a single piece of furniture in my house that I bought new. I tore the letter in two and threw the pieces in the fire. As he explained, another piece of the jigsaw fell into place. a piece of machinery Would you like another piece of apple pie? My nerves were shot to pieces after my driving test. Several cups fell to the floor and smashed to pieces. I need a piece of string to tie this package. tiny pieces of paper I had a piece of toast for breakfast.
(also a bit of advice informal)· Let me give you a piece of advice.
· How many pieces of baggage do you have?
sushi served in convenient bite-size pieces A bomb like that could blow you to bits.· Can I have another slice of bread?
· Would you like a slice of cake?
· Would you like a piece of cheese?
(=one that you move around the board)· Some of the chess pieces were missing.
(=a chicken breast, leg, thigh or wing)· You will need two chicken pieces per person.
· Would you like a piece of chocolate?
Chop the meat into small cubes.· There were pieces of clothing scattered around the room.
· Shall I cut you a slice of cake?
· Next cut the carrots into thin slices.
· Every single piece of data is important.
a piece of elastic· When you buy an expensive piece of equipment, you need to insure it.
· The study produced one interesting piece of evidence.
(=find out what actually happened in a situation)· The police are still piecing together the facts.
I can’t think of a single piece of furniture in my house that I bought new.· He cut his foot on a piece of glass.
· I’ve got an interesting piece of gossip which might interest you.
· I still have one piece of homework left to do.
I tore the letter in two and threw the pieces in the fire. (also an item of information formal)· He provided me with several useful pieces of information.
As he explained, another piece of the jigsaw fell into place. (=an area of land)· He built a house on a piece of land near the river.
· The most important piece of legislation was the Prevention of Fraud Act.
(=something good that happens by chance)· What a piece of luck that he arrived when he did!
a piece of machinery· It’s a beautiful piece of music.
(also a bit of news British English)· Leo thought about this piece of news carefully.
· Can I have another piece of paper?
Would you like another piece of apple pie?· We had to memorize a piece of poetry.
· The claim was a typical piece of Russian propaganda.
· A recent piece of research shows why marriages break up.
· His leg was trapped under a large lump of rock.
· This is a magnificent piece of sculpture.
My nerves were shot to pieces after my driving test. Several cups fell to the floor and smashed to pieces.· This excellent piece of software is compatible with both PCs and Macs.
I need a piece of string to tie this package. (=a large seat and two chairs)
· The dogs tore the meat to pieces.
(=very thrilled)
tiny pieces of paper I had a piece of toast for breakfast.· The pieces of wire he’d cut were too short.
· He made a bench out of pieces of wood.
· The fishermen were left clinging to pieces of wreckage.
· It's a brilliant piece of writing.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· He was like a man piecing together a long silent dream.· The manager develops an understanding of his milieu by piecing together all the scraps of data he can find.· Robert Foley is an anthropologist at Cambridge University who has tried to piece together the history of our social system.· And that's 4 weeks cutting, shaping and piecing together in the workshop using techniques, both old fashioned and up to date.· Equally questionable esthetically is the dashboard, which has a look of being pieced together from assorted parts.· By piecing together the jigsaw fragments, I was able to recreate the chapter.· Officials are still trying to piece together what happened before the fatal crash Sunday.
NOUN· Some of it is valuable in itself, and some becomes valuable when it is pieced together with other information.
VERB· They're still trying to piece together her last movements.· Robert Foley is an anthropologist at Cambridge University who has tried to piece together the history of our social system.· He finished up trying to piece together what happened.· Chief Superintendent Louis Munn said police were still trying to piece together exactly what happened and establish a motive for the attack.· Unable to locate her son, Mxolisi, Mandisa tries to piece together what has happened.· Officials are still trying to piece together what happened before the fatal crash Sunday.· Accident investigators have been at the scene this morning trying to piece together what happened.· Urich has always been a likable actor, and he is sympathetic as a man trying to piece his life together.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► how long is a piece of string?► pick something to pieces
piece something ↔ together phrasal verb1to use all the information you have about a situation in order to discover the truth about it: - A police station, so help me, is a piece of the action.
- His successors never again ran the town, as he did, but they always had a piece of the action.
- If you want a slice of the action tickets may still be available on.
- If you want to get a slice of the action book early - no kidding.
- Nation shall speak peace unto nation, and I shall grab a piece of the action.
- Or did evil Uncle Humbert destroy it, because under the law he would then get a piece of the action?
- So how do you get a slice of the action?
- Will foreign firms get a piece of the action?
- Do any of these bits and bobs belong to you?
- making a mosaic out of bits and pieces of tiles
- There are all sorts of bits and pieces in this box.
- For the next two decades he made a sort of living finding bits and pieces of editing and translation work.
- Having chosen the size of guttering, draw up a list of the various bits and pieces you need.
- He circled the house, looking in, and saw nothing but the bits and pieces of ordinary living.
- My eyes adjusted, and things became edges, corners, bits and pieces of what they were.
- Not a single one had listened to it or even heard bits and pieces on the news.
- Storing the furniture and the bits and pieces we didn't need immediately was a bit more difficult.
- The bits of information range from play dates with friends to the sometimes frightening bits and pieces of domestic violence.
- Why teach in bits and pieces a subject which is a whole?
- Creating graphs is a piece of cake on the computer.
- Getting tickets to the game will be a piece of cake.
- But there is no use pretending the Saturn-Pluto effect will be a piece of cake.
- My bone marrow was harvested a couple of weeks ago and the whole thing was a piece of cake.
- Normally, walking along tarmac is a piece of cake after the rocky excursion along a ridge.
- Should be a piece of cake.
- That was a piece of cake compared to finding a square mile without an ad.
- The one he was allocated, Parky, a homely, Hoomey-sized bay, was a piece of cake compared with Bones.
- After he left, I fell to pieces.
- As a result, now that the autumn rains were here, it was already showing signs of falling to pieces.
- Being a super-duper well-'ard off-road jobbie, your machine can take a fair amount of punishment before falling to bits.
- He hated playing agony aunt but he couldn't afford to have Hirschfeldt falling to pieces.
- Supposing the union fell to pieces, these were the fracture lines along which it would naturally break.
- The media seemed to be willing the marriage to fall to pieces.
- The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.
- There's a difference between consciously colouring a passage and not being able to control a voice that is falling to bits.
- The walls were all dirty and the furniture was falling to pieces.
- But most of the material was falling to pieces.
- The Soviet Union is falling to pieces; a bloody struggle for those pieces can not be ruled out.
- There's a difference between consciously colouring a passage and not being able to control a voice that is falling to bits.
- They would blaze into prominence just as the foreground planting was falling to pieces.
- Cyril and Wyatt had gone around together with that other boy, that Donald, who was a nasty piece of work.
- You'd best steer clear of him, Manderley, he's a nasty piece of work.
- The town is beginning to pick up the pieces after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
- As proved by history, women are the ones who have to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of war.
- I picked up the pieces myself.
- In her motherly concerned way, she was cosseting him as he tried to pick up the pieces of his life.
- In the more stable area people were returning to pick up the pieces of their lives.
- It has already made behind-the-scenes preparations to share the job of picking up the pieces.
- Then the red mists cleared and she sank to her knees, picking up the pieces, moaning softly.
- This hopefully will cause them a fixture congestion around April/May with us hopefully been able to pick up the pieces.
- Whimper like a whipped puppy, Jay, have a drink and pick up the pieces.
- Smaller capitalist countries are maneuvering to gain a bigger share of the pie.
- That meant nearly one in five students was moderately to severely work-inhibited-a considerable slice of the pie.
- Virtually every academic institution, it seemed, wanted a piece of the pie.
- All the pieces of the puzzle were in place: it was time for a little conference.
- But what about the piece of the puzzle we have so far omitted?
- Fortunately, the next step in the research process supplied the missing piece of the puzzle.
- How television has changed is one piece of the puzzle.
- It's another piece of the puzzle.
- So he created a temporary scaffolding to get one piece of the puzzle going.
- Take me out of there, and you're taking away a big piece of the puzzle.
- The final pieces of the puzzle had now been slotted into place.
- He knew that he was clever and always wanted to say his piece in meetings.
- I was wondering what would happen when Dolly came out on to the stage and said his piece.
- Now I have come forward and said my piece.
- She'd come this far to say her piece and say it she would, come hell or high water.
- Sutton was allowed to say his piece.
- The horse-trading that lies ahead will end only when the three key players have said their piece.
- The rules state that you let a guy say his piece and you consider what he said.
- We each said our piece, each absolutely predictable.
- After all these years, I'd taken something to bits and successfully put it all back together again.
- Carter shrugged and fetching a, paraffin stove from inside a caravan began to take it to pieces.
- He learnt how to take a car to pieces.
- Most reputable dealers will take a computer to pieces for you.
- Operators decided to clean down equipment regularly, not just superficially, but by taking it to pieces.
- Unfortunately appearances has been misleading and heavy filling was found as they started to take it to bits.
- In the end the prosecutor's case was torn to shreds by Russell's lawyer.
- Male Siamese fighting fish will tear each other's fins to shreds.
- A shell had exploded in the body of one of them, tearing it to pieces; others were torn and wounded.
- And having got under them, he can't half tear them to pieces.
- He was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore him to pieces and devoured him.
- If Hyde returns while I am writing this confession, he will tear it to pieces to annoy me.
- They snarled at them as if they were criminals and took their papers as if they'd like to tear them to shreds.
- They will tear you to pieces.
- We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws.
- Within two years, other researchers had torn it to shreds.
- But to do so in this way was to make her appear the villain of the piece.
- But who is really the villain of the piece?
- Charles the Bald remained the villain of the piece.
- Nor do I regard the villains of the piece as the fighters themselves.
Police are trying to piece together his movements before the murder. Her early life has been pieced together from several different sources.2to put all the separate parts of an object into the correct order or position: He slowly pieced together the torn fragments of a letter.