a fixed rate paid according to the quantity produced
piece rate in American English
noun
compensation based on a worker's quantitative output or production, usually an agreed sum per article of work turned out
Word origin
[1890–95]This word is first recorded in the period 1890–95. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blanket roll, blip, honky-tonk, neoclassicism, phoneme
Examples of 'piece rate' in a sentence
piece rate
Many small hauliers, often owner-operators on tight piece-rate contracts, have little or no cycle awareness training or technology to guard against fatal collisions.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The board's rules also bar 'piece rates', or performance-related pay, making it difficult to encourage hard work.