piece
n. countablen. a part of something that has been broken, cut, or separated from the whole. You use this when talking about food, puzzles, or parts of a set.
n. a portion or fragment of a larger whole that has been separated or partitioned. Often used to describe individual components of a collective set or physical segments of a material.
I would like a small piece of cake.
She carefully placed the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle into the center of the board.
The museum curator spent months identifying each ceramic piece recovered from the site to ensure the ancient vase was reconstructed with absolute historical accuracy.
From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish pettyā, from Proto-Celtic kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”). Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.
Frequently used in partitive constructions with 'of' to quantify uncountable nouns like 'advice', 'furniture', or 'information'.
an advicea piece of adviceLearners often treat 'advice' as countable; 'piece' is required to count or individualize it.
- 01
chess piece
A person being manipulated by another, being used to some end.
- 02
give someone a piece of one's mind
To express one's opinion strongly; to voice one's disagreement or dissatisfaction, especially with another person; to scold or rebuke someone.
- 03
piece of ass
An act of sexual intercourse, especially a one-night stand.