Related Searches
on Ask.com
piece
9 dictionary results for: Piece
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
piece 
[pees] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, pieced, piec·ing.
[pees] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, pieced, piec·ing. –noun
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
—Idioms
| 1. | a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land; a piece of chocolate. |
| 2. | a quantity of some substance or material forming a single mass or body: a nice piece of lumber. |
| 3. | a more or less definite portion or quantity of a whole: to cut a blueberry pie into six pieces. |
| 4. | a particular length, as of certain goods prepared for the market: cloth sold by the piece. |
| 5. | an amount of work forming a single job: to be paid by the piece and not by the hour. |
| 6. | an example of workmanship, esp. of artistic production, as a picture or a statue: The museum has some interesting pieces by Picasso. |
| 7. | a literary composition, usually short, in prose or verse. |
| 8. | a literary selection for recitation: Each child had a chance to recite a piece. |
| 9. | a musical composition. |
| 10. | one of the parts that, when assembled, form a whole: the pieces of a clock. |
| 11. | an individual article of a set or collection: a set of dishes containing 100 pieces. |
| 12. | Chess, Checkers.
|
| 13. | a token, charm, or amulet: a good-luck piece. |
| 14. | an individual thing of a particular class or kind: a piece of furniture; a piece of drawing paper. |
| 15. | an example, specimen, or instance of something: a fine piece of workmanship. |
| 16. | one of the parts into which a thing is destructively divided or broken; a part, fragment, or shred: to tear a letter into pieces. |
| 17. | Military.
|
| 18. | a coin: a five-cent piece. |
| 19. | Midland and Southern U.S. a distance: I'm going down the road a piece. |
| 20. | Chiefly North Midland U.S. a snack. |
| 21. | Also called piece of ass. Slang: Vulgar.
|
| 22. | to mend (a garment, article, etc.) by adding, joining, or applying a piece or pieces; patch. |
| 23. | to complete, enlarge, or extend by an added piece or something additional (often fol. by out): to piece out a library with new books. |
| 24. | to make by or as if by joining pieces (often fol. by together): to piece a quilt; to piece together a musical program. |
| 25. | to join together, as pieces or parts: to piece together the fragments of a broken dish. |
| 26. | to join as a piece or addition to something: to piece new wire into the cable. |
| 27. | to assemble into a meaningful whole by combining available facts, information, details, etc.: He pieced the story together after a lot of effort. |
| 28. | Chiefly North Midland U.S. to eat small portions of food between meals; snack. |
| 29. | give someone a piece of one's mind. mind (def. 35). |
| 30. | go to pieces,
|
| 31. | of a piece, of the same kind; harmonious; consistent. Also, of one piece. |
| 32. | piece of the action. action (def. 23). |
| 33. | speak one's piece, to express one's opinion; reveal one's thoughts upon a subject: I decided to speak my piece whether they liked it or not. |
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME pece < OF < Gaulish *pettia; akin to Breton pez piece, Welsh, Cornish peth thing]
] —Antonyms 1. whole.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| piece
(pēs) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. pieced, piec·ing, piec·es
[Middle English pece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pettia, probably of Celtic origin.] |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
piece
piece
c.1225, "fixed amount, measure, portion," from O.Fr. piece (11c.), from V.L. *pettia, probably from Gaulish (cf. Welsh peth "thing," Breton pez "piece"), from O.Celt. base *pett-. Sense of "portable firearm" first recorded 1581; that of "chessman" is from 1562. Meaning "person regarded as a sex object" is first recorded 1785 (cf. piece of ass, human beings colloquially called piece of flesh from 1593; cf. also L. scortum "bimbo, anyone available for a price," lit. "skin," dim. scortillum "bimbette"). Meaning "a portion of a distance" is from 1612; that of "literary composition" dates from 1533. The verb meaning "to mend by adding pieces" is recorded from c.1380; sense of "to join, unite, put together" is from 1483. Piece of my mind is from 1572. The Mod.Fr. form is reborrowed into Eng. in pièce de résistance (1839), originally "the most substantial dish in a meal." Piece-work dates from 1549. Piece of work "remarkable person" echoes Hamlet. Piece of Eight is the old name for the Sp. dollar (1610) of the value of 8 reals.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| piece | |
noun | |
| 1. | a separate part of a whole; "an important piece of the evidence" |
| 2. | an item that is an instance of some type; "he designed a new piece of equipment"; "she bought a lovely piece of china"; |
| 3. | a portion of a natural object; "they analyzed the river into three parts"; "he needed a piece of granite" [syn: part] |
| 4. | a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements" [syn: musical composition] |
| 5. | an instance of some kind; "it was a nice piece of work"; "he had a bit of good luck" |
| 6. | an artistic or literary composition; "he wrote an interesting piece on Iran"; "the children acted out a comic piece to amuse the guests" |
| 7. | a portable gun; "he wore his firearm in a shoulder holster" [syn: firearm] |
| 8. | a serving that has been cut from a larger portion; "a piece of pie"; "a slice of bread" |
| 9. | a distance; "it is down the road a piece" |
| 10. | a work of art of some artistic value; "this store sells only objets d'art"; "it is not known who created this piece" [syn: objet d'art] |
| 11. | a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition; "he was here for a little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a patch of bad weather" [syn: while] |
| 12. | a share of something; "a slice of the company's revenue" [syn: slice] |
| 13. | game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games; "he taught me to set up the men on the chess board"; "he sacrificed a piece to get a strategic advantage" [syn: man] |
verb | |
| 1. | to join or unite the pieces of; "patch the skirt" [syn: patch] |
| 2. | create by putting components or members together; "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee" [syn: assemble] [ant: break apart] |
| 3. | join during spinning; "piece the broken pieces of thread, slivers, and rovings" |
| 4. | eat intermittently; take small bites of; "He pieced at the sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles" [syn: nibble] |
| 5. | repair by adding pieces; "She pieced the china cup" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This
piece
In addition to the idioms beginning with piece, also see all in one piece; conversation piece; go to pieces; museum piece; of a piece; pick apart (to pieces); pick up the pieces; puff piece; say one's piece; think piece; thrill to pieces; to pieces; villain of the piece.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Piece
Piece\, n. [OE. pece, F. pi[`e]ce, LL. pecia, petia, petium, probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. peth a thing, a part, portion, a little, Armor. pez, Gael. & Ir. cuid part, share. Cf. Petty.]1. A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break in pieces. Bring it out piece by piece. --Ezek. xxiv. 6. 2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper. 3. Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance; especially: (a) A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary. (b) A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece. (c) A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings. (d) A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of knowledge. 4. An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt. "If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him." --Sir P. Sidney. Thy mother was a piece of virtue. --Shak. His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world. --Coleridge. 5. (Chess) One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn. 6. A castle; a fortified building. [Obs.] --Spenser. Of a piece, of the same sort, as if taken from the same whole; like; -- sometimes followed by with. --Dryden. Piece of eight, the Spanish piaster, formerly divided into eight reals. To give a piece of one's mind to, to speak plainly, bluntly, or severely to (another). --Thackeray. Piece broker, one who buys shreds and remnants of cloth to sell again. Piece goods, goods usually sold by pieces or fixed portions, as shirtings, calicoes, sheetings, and the like.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Piece
Piece\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pieced; p. pr. & vb. n. Piecing.]1. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; -- often with out. --Shak. 2. To unite; to join; to combine. --Fuller. His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him. --Fuller.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Piece
Piece\, v. i. To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. "It pieced better." --Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.