set piece

[ set-pees ]
See synonyms for set piece on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Theater. a piece of scenery used as part of a stage set, as a profile or three-dimensional construction built to stand independently on the stage floor: A few set pieces simulating rocks and a fence constituted the scenery for the first act.

  2. a work of art, literature, music, etc., having a prescribed thematic and formal structure: the set pieces of Restoration comedy.

  1. a scene, action, or the like, having a conventional form and functioning as part of the structure of a work of art, literature, etc.

  2. a military operation carried out according to a rigid plan.

  3. Also called set play .Sports. a coordinated maneuver with team players in a preplanned formation when the ball re-enters active play, as a corner kick in soccer: The team’s dedicated practice time for set pieces paid off in their penalty kick results this year.

  4. (in a novel, narrative poem, or the like) a passage more or less extraneous to the sequence of events, introduced to supply background, color, or the like.

  5. an arrangement of slow-burning fireworks forming a design or composition when lighted.

Origin of set piece

1
First recorded in 1840–50

Words Nearby set piece

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use set piece in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for set piece

set piece

noun
  1. a work of literature, music, etc, often having a conventional or prescribed theme, intended to create an impressive effect

  2. a piece of scenery built to stand independently as part of a stage set

  1. a display of fireworks

  2. sport a rehearsed team manoeuvre, usually attempted in continuous games at a restart of play, esp when the other side has been penalized for improper play

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012