piece of work

piece

P0130900 (pēs)n.1. A thing considered as a unit or an element of a larger thing, quantity, or class; a portion: a piece of string.2. A portion or part that has been separated from a whole: a piece of pie.3. An object that is one member of a group or class: a piece of furniture.4. An artistic, musical, or literary work or composition: "They are lively and well-plotted pieces, both in prose" (Tucker Brooke).5. An instance; a specimen: a piece of sheer folly.6. What one has to say about something; an opinion: speak one's piece.7. A coin: a ten-cent piece.8. Games a. One of the counters or figures used in playing various board games.b. Any one of the chess figures other than a pawn.9. Slang A firearm, especially a rifle.10. Informal A given distance: "There was farm country down the road on the right a piece" (James Agee).tr.v. pieced, piec·ing, piec·es 1. To mend by adding pieces or a piece to: piece a dress.2. To join or unite the pieces of: He pieced together the vase. She pieced together an account of what had gone on during the stormy meeting.Idioms: a piece of (one's) mind Frank and severe criticism; censure. of a piece Belonging to the same class or kind. piece by piece In stages: took the clock apart piece by piece. piece of ass Vulgar Slang A person, especially a woman, considered sexually attractive. piece of cake Informal Something very easy to do. piece of the action Slang A share of an activity or of profits: "a piece of the action in a Florida land deal" (Shana Alexander). piece of work A remarkable person, achievement, or product: "He's a very tough piece of work" (Ted Koppel).

[Middle English pece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pettia, probably of Celtic origin.]

Thesaurus

Noun

piece of work - a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing; "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time"workfollowup, follow-up - a piece of work that exploits or builds on earlier work; "his new software is a follow-up to the programs they started with"handcraft, handicraft, handiwork, handwork - a work produced by hand laborironwork - work made of iron (gratings or rails or railings etc); "the houses had much ornamental ironwork"lacework - work consisting of (or resembling) lace fabriclacquerware - a decorative work made of wood and covered with lacquer and often inlaid with ivory or precious metalsleatherwork - work made of leatherchef-d'oeuvre, masterpiece - the most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsmanmetalwork - the metal parts of something; "there were bullet holes in the metalwork"openwork - ornamental work (such as embroidery or latticework) having a pattern of openingspolychrome - a piece of work composed of or decorated in many colorsproduct, production - an artifact that has been created by someone or some process; "they improve their product every year"; "they export most of their agricultural production"silverwork - decorative work made of silvercaning, wickerwork, wicker - work made of interlaced slender branches (especially willow branches)woodwork - work made of wood; especially moldings or stairways or furniturework in progress - a piece of work that is not yet finishedworkpiece - work consisting of a piece of metal being machinedpublication - a copy of a printed work offered for distribution

piece of work

a piece of work

A remarkably difficult, malicious, unpleasant, or objectionable person. Boy, our new boss is a real piece of work. Remind me to stay out of her way! I hear Amy's boyfriend is a piece of work.See also: of, piece, work

piece of work

A remarkable person, achievement, or product: "He's a very tough piece of work" (Ted Koppel).See also: of, piece, work

piece of work, a

An obnoxious individual. Originally this expression simply referred to something that had been created, and often in an admiring fashion. Shakespeare so used it in Hamlet (2.2), “What a piece of work is a man! . . . the Paragon of animals.” In the first half of the 1900s the term began to be used sarcastically and contemptuously, as in, “Lulu finally had to take her out of the room. Piece of work she is” (David Baldacci, Hour Game, 2004). A documentary film opening in June 2010 was entitled “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” alluding to her often insulting comedy.See also: of, piece

piece of work

piece

piece of work

a piece of work

piece of work

piece of work, a

piece of work

Synonyms for piece of work

noun a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing

Synonyms

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