From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_258_jpiecepiece1 /piːs/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] 1 
amountPIECE 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.2 part 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 part3 single 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)4 small 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.5 landAREA an area of landpiece of a piece of waste ground a dispute about a piece of land 6 → fall to pieces7 → go to pieces8 → smash/rip/tear something to pieces9 → pull/rip/tear somebody/something to pieces10 art/music etcA 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 music11 news itemTCN 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.12 → in one piece13 → give somebody a piece of your mind14 → be a piece of cake15 → be a piece of piss16 → a piece of the action17 → be (all) of a piece18 money a) MONEYa coin of a particular valueten pence/50-cent etc piece Have you change for a 50-cent piece? b) old usePEC a coin Robert slipped two gold pieces into the man’s hand.19 gamesDGB a small object used in a game such as chess20 gun American English informalWEAPON a small gun 21 → across the piece22 → be a (real) piece of work23 → be a piece of shit/crap24 → piece of ass → how long is a piece of string? at long1(9)THESAURUSpiece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main partCould I have another piece of cake?a piece of broken glassEmma cut the pie into eight pieces.bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller piecesThe 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 shapetwo lumps of sugara lump of coala lump of clayscrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer neededI 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 etca strip of clothThe leather had been cut into strips.sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metala blank sheet of papera sheet of aluminiumslice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piecea slice of pizzaCut the tomatoes into thin slices.chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metalThe 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 etca big hunk of cheesehunks of concreteblock a piece of something solid, which has straight sidesconcrete blocksa block of cheesea block of iceslab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etcThe floor had been made from stone slabs.a slab of beefcube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about fooda cube of sugarice cubeswedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metala wedge of cheesebar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sidesa chocolate bar a bar of soap gold bars worth more than £26 millionrasher British English a slice of baconI usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.a small piecefragment a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hardThe window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.They found fragments of bone.crumb a very small piece of bread, cake etcThere 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 itShe brushed the specks of dust from the table.drop a very small amount of a liquidThere 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/liquid
amountPIECE 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.2 part 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 part3 single 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)4 small 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.5 landAREA an area of landpiece of a piece of waste ground a dispute about a piece of land 6 → fall to pieces7 → go to pieces8 → smash/rip/tear something to pieces9 → pull/rip/tear somebody/something to pieces10 art/music etcA 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 music11 news itemTCN 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.12 → in one piece13 → give somebody a piece of your mind14 → be a piece of cake15 → be a piece of piss16 → a piece of the action17 → be (all) of a piece18 money a) MONEYa coin of a particular valueten pence/50-cent etc piece Have you change for a 50-cent piece? b) old usePEC a coin Robert slipped two gold pieces into the man’s hand.19 gamesDGB a small object used in a game such as chess20 gun American English informalWEAPON a small gun 21 → across the piece22 → be a (real) piece of work23 → be a piece of shit/crap24 → piece of ass → how long is a piece of string? at long1(9)THESAURUSpiece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main partCould I have another piece of cake?a piece of broken glassEmma cut the pie into eight pieces.bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller piecesThe 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 shapetwo lumps of sugara lump of coala lump of clayscrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer neededI 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 etca strip of clothThe leather had been cut into strips.sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metala blank sheet of papera sheet of aluminiumslice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piecea slice of pizzaCut the tomatoes into thin slices.chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metalThe 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 etca big hunk of cheesehunks of concreteblock a piece of something solid, which has straight sidesconcrete blocksa block of cheesea block of iceslab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etcThe floor had been made from stone slabs.a slab of beefcube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about fooda cube of sugarice cubeswedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metala wedge of cheesebar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sidesa chocolate bar a bar of soap gold bars worth more than £26 millionrasher British English a slice of baconI usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.a small piecefragment a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hardThe window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.They found fragments of bone.crumb a very small piece of bread, cake etcThere 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 itShe brushed the specks of dust from the table.drop a very small amount of a liquidThere 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/liquid Examples from the Corpus
piece• Our satellite dish has a piece broken off of it.• Crude as Farley plays it, his endearing-blowfish persona is quite a piece of work.• If you want a piece, indicate by saying yes.• When a piece of quicklime was held in the tip of the flame it became white hot and glowed brilliantly.• a piece of paper• Harry wanted to take the little blonde piece and jive with her.• a pack of chicken pieces• Tim cut the pie into eight pieces.• a simple boat made from a few pieces of wood• And indeed it was something very different - the bones of a human skeleton, a few pieces of clothing still on it.• a truly impressive piece of Greek sculpture• The vase lay in pieces on the floor.• The equipment had to be taken apart and transported in pieces.• The collection includes pieces in both oils and watercolours, with a range of still life paintings.• Some of the jigsaw pieces are missing.• Taking a page from the Netscape playbook, Microsoft is giving away key pieces of Internet software.• But finally Helen had crumpled her last piece of newspaper.• a beautifully made piece of furniture• The Times did a nice piece on the illegal gambling.• The concert began with three short pieces by the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos.• One of the pieces in Greene's sculpture collection is valued at $12,000.• The position of the piece of gravel would have made it virtually impossible for the fish to dislodge it.• The books were eagerly borrowed and well used, and they finally fell to pieces.• The old wreck had been smashed to pieces on the island's rocks.• Another typical piece of Owen's work is the poem, 'The Sentry'.• There were pieces of broken glass all over the road.piece of• Do you want a piece of pizza?• There are pieces of glass all over the road.in pieces• But now assume another person invests that same $ 20,000 in pieces on a monthly basis.• It is in commerce and in pieces of every size.• But it was a home thrust, for the Dennison family was breaking in pieces.• The car must have been dismantled and brought up in the elevator in pieces, then put together again.• He got Hamlet in pieces, over breakfast.• The ship now lies in pieces at the bottom of the ocean.• On his downswing, all the moving parts came together at once, not in pieces.• The cars were shipped in pieces and then reassembled.• There was an accident and the thing ended up in pieces.• He was in pieces, wasn't he?piece of advice/information/gossip etc• My reverie was penetrated by two devastating pieces of information which managed to scale the language barrier.• Consider each piece of information in turn.• His first piece of advice was that I tell no one.• Explain clearly why you have included pieces of information.• I thought that was an interesting piece of information, so I put it in my story.• How much better it is when any facts or pieces of information come from you yourself.• What are the connections between the pieces of information?• Why is this piece of information necessary?piece of music/writing/sculpture etc• And if I fall into the pulse at the start of a piece of music it is a physical joy.• It won't be deathless prose, but it should be a grammatical and effective piece of writing.• That is one of my favorite pieces of music.• They spent hours together, particularly when one or the other had acquired a new piece of music.• Produce a sustained piece of writing when the task demands it. ii Produce well-structured pieces of writing.• If anything this piece of writing is too competent, too clever.• If you mixed all your pieces of writing together, would they make a story?piece about/on• He began to read a piece about the proposed transformation of a disused mill into a luxury hotel.• You said you were going to write a piece on opinion polls and then you wrote a story slandering the Prime Minister.• Not a single one had listened to it or even heard bits and pieces on the news.• Or Seafood Salad - a delicious combination of prawns, smoked salmon and crab pieces on a bed of mixed salad.• Burnished visuals are a plus in this memory piece about a boy growing up in Depression-era South Philadelphia.• In any case, orienting the piece on the table also takes time.• You also could put the pieces on skewers and push them in the ground near the trees.• I mean, it's not like they were compiled to pieces on Rough Trade or anything, is it?ten pence/50-cent etc piece• I've just swallowed fifteen ten pence pieces!piecepiece2 ●○○ verb → piece something ↔ together→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
piece• He will not piece or parse.• Twenty-five years after Fernando's death, it was possible to piece together his skeleton in its entirety.• Organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous concern themselves with piecing together the casualties of addiction.• Accident investigators have been at the scene this morning trying to piece together what happened.• He finished up trying to piece together what happened.• It took days, but finally they thought they had it pretty well pieced together.From Longman Business Dictionarypiecepiece /piːs/ noun [countable]1ten-pence/fifty-cent etc piece a coin of a particular valueDoes anyone have change for a 50 pence piece?2a single thing of a particular typepiece ofa piece of equipmenta 24-piece cutlery set3supply/sell something by the pieceCOMMERCE to supply or sell something as a single thing rather than in a pair or a set4pay somebody/work by the pieceCOMMERCE if people work or are paid by the piece, they are paid for each thing they produce, not for the amount of time it takes to produce itOrigin piece1 (1100-1200) Old French Vulgar Latin pettia 