piece

1 of 2

noun

1
: a part of a whole: such as
a
: fragment
pieces of broken glass
b
: any of the individual members comprising a unit
often used in combination
a five-piece band
a three-piece suit
c
: portion, allocation
a piece of the jackpot
2
: an object or individual regarded as a unit of a kind or class
a piece of fruit
3
: a usually unspecified distance
down the road a piece
4
: a standard quantity (as of length, weight, or size) in which something is made or sold
5
: a literary, journalistic, artistic, dramatic, or musical composition
6
7
: coin
also : token
8
: a movable object used in playing a board game
specifically : a chessman other than a pawn
9
: opinion, view
spoke his piece
10
a
vulgar : an act of copulation
b
vulgar : the female partner in sexual intercourse
11
: instance, example
silly piece of nonsense
a nice piece of acting

piece

2 of 2

verb

pieced; piecing

transitive verb

1
: to repair, renew, or complete by adding pieces : patch
2
: to join into a whole
often used with together
his new book … has been pieced together from talksMerle Miller
piecer noun
Phrases
of a piece piece of one's mind
: a severe scolding : tongue-lashing
piece of the action
: a share in activity or profit
to pieces
1
: without reserve or restraint : completely
2
: into fragments
also : into component parts
3
: out of control
went to pieces from shock
Choose the Right Synonym for piece

part, portion, piece, member, division, section, segment, fragment mean something less than the whole.

part is a general term appropriate when indefiniteness is required.

they ran only part of the way

portion implies an assigned or allotted part.

cut the pie into six portions

piece applies to a separate or detached part of a whole.

a puzzle with 500 pieces

member suggests one of the functional units composing a body.

a structural member

division applies to a large or diversified part.

the manufacturing division of the company

section applies to a relatively small or uniform part.

the entertainment section of the newspaper

segment applies to a part separated or marked out by or as if by natural lines of cleavage.

the retired segment of the population

fragment applies to a part produced by or as if by breaking off.

only a fragment of the play still exists

Examples of piece in a Sentence

Noun Divide the pie into six equal pieces. The cheese was cut into small pieces and arranged on a silver platter. You have a piece of lettuce stuck between your teeth. Her broken bicycle lay in pieces by the side of the road. I watched her rip the letter to pieces and throw it away. There are 12 pieces in this stainless steel knife set. a jigsaw puzzle with 500 pieces We're missing one piece of the puzzle. I took apart the engine piece by piece and put it back together again. Verb you might want to piece together a quilt from those odd patches of cloth
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Mazzoli created a lush score that was alternately sweeping or intimate, sensuous or mystical, yet with a distinctive sound that was her own weaving a thread through the piece. Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com, 19 July 2017 This is why the war stories of Tom Clancy are such convincing and moving pieces of fiction. Janine Barchas, Washington Post, 18 July 2017 Saturday evening, the British Broadcasting Corporation posted a piece about the ancient cypress forest discovered sixty feet underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, attracting the international attention. Ben Raines, AL.com, 17 July 2017 After cutting your lemon (or lime) in half, cut a small piece of skin off of the other side. Carly Breit, Country Living, 14 July 2017 The public offers a piece of its mind Mic's Celeste Katz discloses that Trump's controversial voter fraud panel won't let the public speak at its first meeting on July 19 but did solicit emails. The Hive, 14 July 2017 Alan Jacobs, a professor at Baylor University, has written eloquently about that last piece. Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 14 July 2017 For those not in the know, Polar Pizza involves a double fudge brownie crust and mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with Oreo cookie pieces. Cole Kazdin, Los Angeles Magazine, 14 July 2017 His beautiful portrait of Ken Moody, one of an edition of ten, was on sale for £25,000 ($31,650), about five times the price of one of Ms Yass’s pieces. The Economist, 13 July 2017
Verb
Unfortunately for Phoenix, they haven’t been granted enough (healthy) attempts to move the puzzle pieces around. Shane Young, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 She’s confused by it and trying to piece it out, but doesn’t understand it. Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2024 The act of combining all these different modalities into a single model from the get-go is far simpler than piecing it together, Nishihara said, but has required a fundamental shift at the architecture level. Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023 Plates and bowls of varying colors pieced from different sets? Alex Milmeyster, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 The video of them washing money and patiently piecing it together like a jigsaw puzzle has been liked more than 175,000 times. Cathy Free, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024 The sale includes all of the furniture pieces hand-selected by Garriss, who sourced pieces from top manufacturers such as Giorgetti, B&B Italia, Armani Casa, Poltrona Frau, and more. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2023 One TikTok user asked in the comments if the creator whipped up an egg wash or sugar solution to piece the parts together more easily. Abby Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Dec. 2023 Story's relatives helped detectives piece the story together. Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piece.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *pettia, of Gaulish origin; akin to Welsh peth thing

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of piece was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near piece

Cite this Entry

“Piece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piece. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

piece

1 of 2 noun
1
: a part cut, torn, or broken from a thing : fragment
a piece of string
2
: one of a class, group, or set of things
a piece of mail
a three-piece suit
a chess piece
3
: a usually unspecified distance
down the road a piece
4
: a portion marked off
a piece of land
5
: a single item or example
a piece of news
6
: a standard quantity or size in which an article is made or sold
buy lumber by the piece
7
: something made, composed, or written
a piece written for the piano
8
: coin entry 1 sense 1
a 50-cent piece
9
10
: example sense 1
a nice piece of acting

piece

2 of 2 verb
pieced; piecing
1
: to repair, form, or complete by adding pieces
helped to piece a quilt
pieced a jigsaw puzzle
2
: to join into a whole
pieced their stories together
piecer noun

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