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

Its set pieces remain impressively staged, and the intriguing subplots regarding the tournament’s mysterious creation—including the ongoing search for the island on which the event takes place—pick up after being sidelined in Season 2. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 27 June 2025

In the end, Inter’s strength from set pieces was enough to clinch an equaliser, with Carboni’s winner seeing the 20-year-old find too much space in the penalty area within a circle of tired Urawa legs. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 21 June 2025

Be prepared to play set pieces and stand ready to improvise. —Sid Mohasseb, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

Monroe plays Ava, introduced to the audience in the film’s mildly impressive opening set piece that unfolds across a drug deal gone violently bad. —Tomris Laffly, Variety, 11 June 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