Piece

Pronunciation

• enPR: pÄ“s, IPA: /piːs/
• Rhymes: -iːs
• Homophones: peace

Alternative forms

• peece obsolete

Origin

Middle English pece, from piece, pece, peece, peice, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish *pettyā‎, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis ("piece, portion"). Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez ("thing"), Irish cuid.

Full definition of piece

Noun

1. A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
2. A single item belonging to a class of similar items: as, for example, a piece of machinery, a piece of software.
• 2013-07-20, Welcome to the plastisphere, researchers noticed many of their pieces of 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, ….
3. (chess) One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; by extension, a similar counter etc. in other games.
• 1959, Hans Kmoch, Pawn Power in Chess, I:Pawns, unlike pieces, move only in one direction: forward.
4. A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.a sixpenny piece
5. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
   She played two beautiful pieces on the piano.
6. An artillery gun.
7. (US, Canada, colloquial) (short for hairpiece); a toupee or wig, usually when worn by a man.
   The announcer is wearing a new piece.
8. (Scotland, Ireland, UK dialectal, US dialectal) A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
• 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, p. 46: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.
9. (US, colloquial) A gun.
   He's packin' a piece!
10. (US, colloquial, vulgar) A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail
    I got a piece at lunchtime.
11. (US, colloquial, mildly vulgar) (short for "piece of crap") a shoddy or worthless object, usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances.
    Ugh, my new computer is such a piece. I'm taking it back to the store tomorrow.
12. (US, slang) A cannabis pipe.
13. (baseball) 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 got, and never used in the plural.
    he got a piece of that one;  she got a piece of the ball...and it's going foul.
14. (dated, sometimes derogatory) An individual; a person.
• Sir Philip SidneyIf I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him.
• ShakespeareThy mother was a piece of virtue.
• ColeridgeHis own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.
15. (obsolete) A castle; a fortified building.
16. (US) A pacifier.

Synonyms

Usage notes

When used as a baseball term, the term is idiomatic in that the baseball is almost never broken into pieces. It is rare in modern baseball for the cover of a baseball to even partially tear loose. In professional baseball, several new, not previously played baseballs are used in each game.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive, usually with together) To assemble (something real or figurative).These clues allowed us to piece together the solution to the mystery.
• FullerHis adversaries ... pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him.
2. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; often with out.to piece a garment
3. (slang) To produce a work of graffiti more complex than a tag.
• 2009, Gregory J. Snyder, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground (page 40)It is incorrect to say that toys tag and masters piece; toys just do bad tags, bad throw-ups, and bad pieces.
• 2009, Scape Martinez, GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti (page 124)It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans for bombing and piecing.

Derived terms