english
1
general::
noun
a serving:
I would like a piece of cake.
noun
part:
I did a piece of that project.
verb
repaired:
She pieced together the vase.
Simple Definitions
2
general::
noun separate amount; parts of sth ADJ. big, huge, large, long | little, short, small, tiny The plate smashed into little pieces on the stone floor. | bite-sized The book breaks the information into bite-sized pieces. | equal | odd She makes her sculptures out of odd pieces of scrap metal. PREP. in ~s The vase was now in pieces on the kitchen floor. | ~ of a piece of bread A few pieces of the jigsaw were missing. PHRASES bits and pieces I just need to get a few bits and pieces at the supermarket. | break/smash into pieces The cake just broke into pieces when I cut it. | come to pieces This chair comes to pieces. | fall to pieces My old dictionary is falling to pieces. | piece by piece We'll need to take the engine apart, piece by piece. | smash sth to pieces, take sth to pieces Can I take this jigsaw to pieces? | tear sth into/to pieces She tore the letter into tiny pieces. of art/music/writing, etc. ADJ. amazing, beautiful, brilliant, fine, good, impressive, lovely, magnificent, marvellous, remarkable, superb, wonderful The best pieces include three paintings by El Greco. | effective, powerful This is an effective piece of writing. | atmospheric, dramatic | interesting | favourite | important | ambitious | original an original piece written specifically for the producer | short a short piece by Willie Simmonds on television satire | finished | occasional an occasional piece on the lives of ordinary people | centre (also centrepiece) | companion a companion piece to the portrait of Gauguin's empty chair | modern, period, traditional | choral, orchestral, piano | museum VERB + PIECE compose, produce, write He hasn't produced a single piece of writing this year. | commission | perform, play, sing | read, hear | publish | display, exhibit, show PIECE + VERB be called sth, be entitled sth PREP. ~ by They are exhibiting two important pieces by Calder. | ~ for a piece for symphony orchestra, choir and four soloists | ~ from She read a piece from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. | ~ of a piece of jewellery PHRASES a piece of music/sculpture/work/writing
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
Phrase(s): a piece (of the action) [and] a bit of the action; a slice of the action
Sl. a share in the activity or the profits. (Especially of a business scheme or gambling activity.) • If you get in on that real estate deal, I want a piece, too. • Deal Tom in. He wants a piece of the action.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
4
general::
piece sth together
[ M ]
to create something by joining the separate parts of it together or by joining different things together
• The ancient skull has been pieced together from fragments.
• Kevin has done a great job to piece together a tremendous team.
• The police are collecting clues in order to piece together the details of the day she died.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
5
general::
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.
American Heritage Idioms
6
general::
piece
an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part:
• Could I have another piece of cake? • a piece of broken glass • Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
bit
a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces:
• The notes were written on bits of paper. • He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
lump
a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape:
• two lumps of sugar • a lump of coal • a lump of clay
scrap
a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed:
• I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper. • The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
strip
a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc:
• a strip of cloth • The leather had been cut into strips.
sheet
a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal:
• a blank sheet of paper • a sheet of aluminium
slice
a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece:
• a slice of pizza • Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
chunk
a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal:
• The fruit was cut into large chunks. • a chunk of bread
hunk
a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc:
• a big hunk of cheese • hunks of concrete
block
a piece of something solid, which has straight sides:
• concrete blocks • a block of cheese • a block of ice
slab
a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc:
• The floor had been made from stone slabs. • a slab of beef
cube
a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food:
• a cube of sugar • ice cubes
wedge
a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal:
• a wedge of cheese
bar
a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides:
• a chocolate bar • a bar of soap • gold bars worth more than £26 million
rasher
British English a slice of bacon:
• I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.
a small piece
fragment
a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hard:
• The window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass. • They found fragments of bone.
crumb
a very small piece of bread, cake etc:
• There were just a few crumbs left on the plate.
speck
a piece of something such as dirt or dust which is so small you almost cannot see it:
• She brushed the specks of dust from the table.
drop
a very small amount of a liquid:
• There were drops of blood on the floor. • I felt a drop of rain.
COLLOCATIONS CHECK
lump
of sugar/rock/metal/earth
scrap
of paper
strip
of cloth/paper
sheet
of paper/metal/glass
slice
of bread/pizza/cake/meat
chunk
of fruit/bread
block
of ice/stone/wood
slab
of rock/stone/meat
bar
of soap/chocolate/candy/metal
rasher
of bacon
speck
of dirt/dust
drop
of blood/rain/liquid
Longman-Thesaurus