Piece

/piːs/

nounBeginner🔥Very CommonGeneral
3 meanings2 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

3 meanings
1

A part of something that has been broken, cut, or separated.

/piːs/

nounneutralBeginner
General

A portion or fragment of something.

He gave her a piece of chocolate.

💡 Simply: A piece is like a single slice of pizza or a part of a puzzle. It's a smaller bit of a bigger thing. Like when your mom says, "Just a piece of cake!"

👶 For kids: A part of a whole thing, like a slice of pizza or a Lego block.

More Examples

2

She assembled the puzzle, finding each piece.

3

The evidence was presented in several pieces.

How It's Used

Culinary

"She ate a piece of cake."

Art

"The museum displayed a valuable piece of art."

2

An individual item, object, or example of something.

/piːs/

nounneutralBeginner
Arts

An item or object.

The museum displayed a valuable piece of art.

💡 Simply: Sometimes 'piece' just means one thing – like a chess piece you move around, or a piece of music you listen to. It's just one single thing.

👶 For kids: A single thing, like a toy or a song.

More Examples

2

She played a lovely piece of music on the piano.

3

The chess player moved his knight piece.

How It's Used

Games

"The player moved their knight piece."

Music

"He played a beautiful piece on the piano."

Tip:Think of a chess piece or a piece of music.
3

To join or assemble pieces of something.

/piːs/

verbneutralmedium
General

To make or create by joining pieces together

She pieced together the broken vase.

💡 Simply: To piece something together is like putting a puzzle together, or making something from separate parts. Imagine if you broke your favorite toy, you have to piece it together.

👶 For kids: To put parts together to make something new.

More Examples

2

The team pieced together the evidence to solve the mystery.

3

He pieced together a quilt using fabric scraps.

How It's Used

Craft

"The artist pieced together the broken vase."

Tip:Think of putting together a jigsaw puzzle - piecing things together.

Idioms & expressions

a piece of cake

Something that is very easy to do.

"The exam was a piece of cake for her."

in one piece

Uninjured or undamaged.

"I'm glad you got home in one piece after the accident."

From Old French *pieche*, from Vulgar Latin *pettia* (a patch), of uncertain origin.

The word 'piece' has been used in the English language since the early 13th century. Early usages refer to a portion or fragment.

Memory tip

Imagine breaking a whole cookie into smaller pieces.

Word Origin

LanguageVulgar Latin
Original meaning

"patch"

a piece of arta piece of cakea piece of papera piece of evidencea piece of advice

Common misspellings

peicepeicepies

Usage

70%Spoken
30%Written