set piece

noun

plural set pieces

1

a

: a composition (as in literature, art, or music) executed in a fixed or ideal form often with studied artistry and brilliant effect

b

: a scene, depiction, speech, or event that is obviously designed to have an imposing effect

2

: a realistic piece of stage scenery standing by itself

3

: a precisely planned and conducted military operation

an offensive set piece that caught the enemy off guard

4

sports : a carefully planned sequence of movements performed by the members of a team (as in soccer)

A set piece can be used on either a direct or indirect type of [free] kick, providing one of the few times during the game that a team can execute something that it may have spent hours practicing.

—Doug Roberson

set-piece

ˈset-ˌpēs 

adjective

Examples of set piece in a Sentence

a movie with some lovely set pieces

She scored with a set piece.

Recent Examples on the Web

These tendencies are most consequential in the kidnapping scene, a gnarled set piece that, in its planning and execution, seems to defy even dream logic. —Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025

Radio Silence alum Justin Martinez certainly delivers on that front, staging an alien invasion from the perspective of skydivers plummeting from an exploding plane — a set piece accomplished through a mix of real aerial footage and digital effects. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025

The manager does not have anyone in his technical area exclusively working on set pieces. —Beren Cross, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

One of the film’s great set pieces is a moving breakthrough between the two sisters, played by Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. —Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for set piece

• apiece
• aris
• assise
• caprice
• cerise
• decease
• decrease
• eyepiece
• facepiece
• handpiece
• headpiece
• increase