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

But in the show, Abby accidentally sets loose a horde of infected onto the city, probably for the sake of adding an extra action set piece early in the season. —Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025

Conceding two goals from set pieces today was criminal. —Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

The improvements in pulling off large set pieces continues to scale from season to season—comparing this battle to the Bel Tine fight back in the first bits of season 1 shows not just better visual effects or whatever, but just flat-out better composition and clearer storytelling. —ArsTechnica, 11 Apr. 2025

Disability Belongs also reviewed several script drafts and gave feedback on the designs of prop and set pieces, like Jeff’s chair, his grabber, the Rainbow Tree elevator, and the surfaces Jeff could travel on. —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 11 Apr. 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