Piece

piece [countable]

1

amount

•  an amount of something that has been separated from the main part
• piece 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 into
• piece 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).
• 3
• single item
•  a single thing of a particular type, or something that is one of several similar things
• piece 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 equipment
• four-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 way
• piece 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
• land
•  an area of land
• piece of
• a piece of waste ground
• a dispute about a piece of land
• 6
• fall to pieces
• a) to become old and in bad condition:
• All my clothes are falling to pieces.
• They've let that lovely old house fall to pieces around them.
• b) to no longer be successful or working well:
• The economy is falling to pieces.
• 7
• go to pieces
•  if a person or what they do goes to pieces, they are so upset or nervous that they cannot live, work, or perform as they should:
• He just went to pieces after his wife died.
• Her performance goes to pieces when her father is watching.
• 8
• smash/rip/tear something to pieces
•  to damage something badly by breaking it into many parts:
• His arm was ripped to pieces by a shark.
• Wear thick gloves, otherwise you'll tear your fingers to pieces.
• 9
• pull/rip/tear somebody/something to pieces
•  to criticize someone or their ideas very severely:
• Donna could tear your work to pieces, and frequently did.
• 10
• art/music etc
•  something that has been produced by an artist, musician, or writer
• piece of music/writing/sculpture etc
• some unusual pieces of sculpture
• The LSO will perform a much-loved concert piece.
• 11
• news item
•  a short article in a newspaper or magazine or part of a television or radio programme that is about a particular subject
• piece about/on
• Did you read that piece in the Observer about censorship?
• Robert wrote a short piece on the earthquake.
• 12
• in one piece
• informal if you arrive somewhere in one piece, you are not injured:
• Cheer up. At least you're still in one piece.
• Ring mum and let her know we got here in one piece.
• 13
• give somebody a piece of your mind
• informal to tell someone that you are very angry with them:
• After the game he gave the players a piece of his mind.
• 14
• be a piece of cake
• informal to be very easy to do:
• Landing this type of aircraft is a piece of cake for an experienced pilot.
• 15
• be a piece of piss
• British English spoken not polite to be very easy to do
• 16
• a piece of the action
• informal a share of the money from a business activity:
• And will foreign firms get a piece of the action?
• 17
• be (all) of a piece
• a) if the things someone says or does are all of a piece, they are part of the typical behaviour of that person
• be (all) of a piece with
• Sexist language is all of a piece with the way some men treat women.
• b) to be the same or similar in all parts:
• The architecture here is all of a piece.
• 18
• money
• a) a coin of a particular value
• ten pence/fifty-cent etc piece
• Have you change for a 50-cent piece?
• b) old use a coin:
• Robert slipped two gold pieces into the man's hand.
• 19
• games
•  a small object used in a game such as chess
• 20
• gun
• American English informal a small gun
• 21
• be a piece of shit/crap
• spoken not polite used to show that you do not respect someone or something they say
• 22
• piece of ass
• American English informal not polite an offensive expression for a woman. Do not use this expression.

• ➔ how long is a piece of string?

  at long1 (9)

Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.