Piece — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈpēs/

Meaning & Definition of Piece

Piece (noun)

  1. a part of a whole
  2. fragment
  3. any of the individual members comprising a unit —often used in combination

Piece (verb)

  1. to repair, renew, or complete by adding pieces, patch
  2. to join into a whole —often used with together

Piece (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a broken or irregular part of something that often remains incomplete

    "a piece of stone fell from the crumbling wall"

    similar: bit, fraction, fragment, scrap
    related: cantle, shred, tatter, end, leftover, oddment, remainder, remnant, stub, portion, section, segment, chip, flake, shard, shatter, shiver, sliver, splinter, clipping, paring, shaving, atom, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, nugget, particle, patch, scruple, snip, snippet, speck, tittle

  2. a literary, musical, or artistic production

    "presented a new interpretation of the piece by Mozart"

    similar: composition, number, opus, work
    related: classic, magnum opus, masterpiece, pièce de résistance, showpiece, model, outline, sketch, étude, canon, corpus, oeuvre

  3. a portable weapon from which a shot is discharged by gunpowder

    "carrying a piece under his coat"

    similar: arm, firearm, gun, heat (slang), small arm
    related: derringer, forty-five, gat (slang), handgun, pistol, revolver, rod (slang), roscoe (slang), sidearm, six-gun, six-shooter, zip gun, self-loader, semiautomatic, blunderbuss, breechloader, culverin, fieldpiece, firelock, flintlock, harquebus, matchlock, musket, rifle, shotgun, smoothbore, twenty-two, AK-47, assault rifle, assault weapon, automatic, carbine, machine gun, machine pistol, repeater, submachine gun, tommy gun, speargun

  4. something belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual member of a group

    "believes his piece of the profits should be higher"

    similar: allotment, allowance, cut, end, part, portion, proportion, quota, share, slice, take, piece of the action
    related: lot, ration, commission, percentage, member, partition, section, segment
    near: aggregate, composite, compound, pool, sum, total, totality, whole

Piece (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to form by putting together parts or materials

    "you might want to piece together a quilt from those odd patches of cloth"

    similar: assemble, build, confect, construct, erect, fabricate, make, make up, put up, raise, rear, set up, put together
    related: carpenter, fashion, forge, frame, hammer, handcraft, manufacture, mold, produce, shape, prefabricate, begin, coin, create, generate, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, invent, originate, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize, conceive, concoct, contrive, cook (up), design, devise, imagine, think (up), reassemble, rebuild, reconstruct, redevelop, reedify (British), retrofit, jerry-build, rig (up), throw up, combine, unite
    opposite: demount, disassemble, dismantle, dismember, knock down, strike, take down, tear down
    near: demolish, destroy, devastate, flatten, level, pull down, pulverize, raze, ruin, ruinate, shatter, smash, wreck, blow up, explode, detach, disengage, disconnect, disjoin, disunite, divide, separate

Related Entry: Piece by piece (adverb)

Piece by piece is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece by piece, not for piece.

  1. by small steps or amounts

    "worked out the solution piece by piece"

    similar: gradationally, gradually, inchmeal, little by little, piecemeal, bit by bit, by degrees, inch by inch
    related: hierarchically, crescively, increasingly, progressively, fractionally, imperceptibly, slowly
    opposite: abruptly, suddenly
    near: acutely, sharply, steeply, hastily, precipitously

Related Entry: Piece of cake (phrase)

Piece of cake is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece of cake, not for piece.

  1. something that is easy to do

    "The final exam for the class was a piece of cake."

    similar: breeze, cake, cakewalk, child's play, cinch, cream puff, duck soup, kid stuff, picnic, pushover, roses, snap, walk in the park
    related: no-brainer, nothing, sitting duck, gimme, laugher, walkaway
    opposite: bear, beast, chore, headache, horror show, killer, labor, murder, pain, sticky wicket, stinker (slang)
    near: brainteaser, poser, stumper, toughie, bother, nuisance, trouble

Related Entry: Piece of the action (phrase)

Piece of the action is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece of the action, not for piece.

  1. something belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual member of a group

    "An early investor who demanded a piece of the action in the founding of the company"

    similar: allotment, allowance, cut, end, part, piece, portion, proportion, quota, share, slice, take
    related: lot, ration, commission, percentage, member, partition, section, segment
    near: aggregate, composite, compound, pool, sum, total, totality, whole

Related Entry: Piece of work (phrase)

Piece of work is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece of work, not for piece.

  1. a person of odd or whimsical habits

    "My grandmother was a real piece of work who intimidated even the local enforcements officers."

    similar: character, codger, crack, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, eccentric, flake, fruitcake, head case, kook, nut, nutcase, nutter (British slang), oddball, oddity, original, quiz, screwball, weirdo, zany, odd duck
    related: bohemian, maverick, nonconformist, quixote, coot, geezer, curio, rarity, freak, fantast, fantastico
    near: conformer, conformist, follower, sheep

Related Entry: Piece (together) (verb)

Piece (together) is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece (together), not for piece.

  1. as in assemble, compound

    similar: assemble, compound, build, construct, make, redraft, reformulate, reframe, conceive, concoct, devise, author, indite, pen, write, couch, express, phrase, state, verbalize, word, fabricate, fashion, form, mold, sculpture, shape, cast, compose, craft, draft, draw up, formulate, frame, prepare

  2. as in figure out, work out

    similar: answer, break, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out, readdress, reanalyze, reconceive, reconsider, redefine, reevaluate, reexamine, reexplore, rethink, review, revisit, reweigh, conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason, clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie, reconceptualize, reenvision, reimagine, reduplicate, repeat, reconstruct, re-create, re-enact, reinvent, rehear

Related Entry: Piece de resistance (noun)

Piece de resistance is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for piece de resistance, not for piece.

  1. as in classic, masterpiece

    similar: classic, magnum opus, masterpiece, showpiece, composition, number, opus, piece, work, model, outline, sketch, étude, canon, corpus, oeuvre

Related Entry: Museum piece (noun)

Museum piece is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for museum piece, not for piece.

  1. something belonging to or surviving from an earlier period

    "that old wooden ironing board she uses is a museum piece"

    similar: antique, relic
    related: artifact, fossil, dinosaur, antiquities, ruins, hangover, remains, remnant, trace, vestige

Related Entry: Of a piece (phrase)

Of a piece is a different word from Piece. The synonyms below are for of a piece, not for piece.

  1. not having or showing any apparent conflict

    "The book and the movie are really of a piece."

    similar: accordant, coherent, compatible, concordant, conformable (to), congruent, congruous, consistent, consonant, correspondent (with or to), harmonious, nonconflicting
    related: self-consistent, appropriate, befitting, felicitous, fit, fitting, meet, proper, right, suitable
    opposite: conflicting, conflictive, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inharmonious, noncompatible
    near: improper, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, infelicitous, unsuitable

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Piece

The most common words with a similar meaning to Piece:

Slang: heat
bit, fraction, fragment, scrap, composition, number, opus, work, arm, firearm, gun, small arm, allotment, allowance, cut, end, part, portion, proportion, quota, share, slice, take, piece of the action, assemble, build, confect, construct, erect, fabricate, make, make up, put up, raise, rear, set up, put together

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Piece

Words with the opposite meaning of Piece:

demount, disassemble, dismantle, dismember, knock down, strike, take down, tear down

Related Words for Piece

cantle, shred, tatter, leftover, oddment, remainder, remnant, stub, section, segment, chip, flake, shard, shatter, shiver, sliver, splinter, clipping, paring, shaving, atom, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote

Near Antonyms of Piece

aggregate, composite, compound, pool, sum, total, totality, whole, demolish, destroy, devastate, flatten, level, pull down, pulverize, raze, ruin, ruinate, shatter, smash, wreck, blow up, explode, detach, disengage, disconnect, disjoin, disunite, divide, separate

Word Forms of Piece

Inflections: pieced, piecing

Derived words: piecer (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Piece

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *pettia, of Gaulish origin; akin to Welsh peth thing

First known use: 13th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Piece

Words & Phrases Containing Piece

piece by piece, piece de resistance, piece-dye, piece goods, piece of cake, piece of eight, piece of one's mind, piece of the action

Frequently Asked Questions about Piece

What does "Piece" mean?

"Piece" means a part of a whole. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: a part of a whole. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Piece"?

Other words for "Piece" include bit, fraction, fragment, scrap, composition, number, opus and work. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Piece" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Piece"?

There are 178 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Piece". Common alternatives include bit, fraction, fragment, scrap, composition, number, opus, work, arm and firearm.

What is the opposite of "Piece"?

Antonyms of "Piece" include demount, disassemble, dismantle, dismember, knock down, strike, take down and tear down. Near antonyms include aggregate, composite, compound and pool.

How do you use "Piece" in a sentence?

Examples of "Piece" in a sentence: "a piece of stone fell from the crumbling wall"; "presented a new interpretation of the piece by Mozart"; "carrying a piece under his coat".

Is "Piece" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Piece" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Piece" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Piece" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Piece"?

"Piece" is pronounced /ˈpēs/.