piece /pēs/

1. A part or portion of anything, esp detached
2. A separate lump, mass or body of any material, considered as an object (in Scots without of following)
3. A distance
4. A span of time
5. A single article
6. A definite quantity, eg of cloth or paper
7. A literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic composition
8. A production, a specimen of work
9. An example
10. An exemplification or embodiment
11. A sandwich or a little bread, buttered or not, esp as a lunch (Scot)
12. A gun
13. A portion (obsolete)
14. A wine cup (obsolete)
15. A coin
16. A man in chess, draughts, or other game (in chess sometimes excluding pawns and the king)
17. A person, now usu (disrespectfully) a woman

1. To enlarge by adding a piece
2. To patch
3. To combine

To have a between-meal snack (US sl)

Consisting of a given number of separate parts, pieces, members, etc, as in three-piece suite

pieceˈless adjective

Not made of pieces

pieceˈmeal adverb

1. (meal¹in sense of ‘measure’) in pieces
2. To pieces
3. Bit by bit

1. Done bit by bit
2. Fragmentary

1. A small piece
2. Bit by bit proceeding

To dismember

piecˈen transitive verb (dialect)

To join (esp broken threads in spinning)

piecˈener or piecˈer noun

A person who is employed in a spinning-factory to join broken threads

piece goods plural noun

Textile fabrics made in standard lengths

piece rate noun

A fixed rate paid according to the amount of work done

pieceˈwork noun

Work paid for by the piece or quantity, not by time

pieceˈworker noun

all to pieces or to pieces

1. Into a state of disintegration or collapse
2. Through and through, thoroughly (US)

a piece

Each

a piece of

1. An instance of
2. A bit of, something of

a piece of cake see under cake

a piece of one's mind

A frank outspoken reprimand

a piece of piss see under piss

go to pieces

1. To break up entirely (lit and figurative)
2. To lose completely the ability to cope with the situation

in pieces

In, or to, a broken-up state

of a piece

1. As if of the same piece, the same in nature
2. Homogeneous, uniform
3. In keeping, consistent (with with)

piece of eight see under eight

piece of goods (dialect; derogatory)

A woman

piece of work

1. A task
2. A fuss, ado
3. A person (usu with nasty, etc)

piece out

To eke out

piece together

To put together bit by bit

piece up

1. To patch up
2. Perh to incorporate in one's own share (Shakespeare)

say one's piece

To contribute one's opinion

the piece (Scot)

Apiece

to pieces see all to pieces above.

• opsin
• opsins
• opsiometer
• opsiometers
• -opsis
• opsomania
• opsomaniac
• opsomaniacs
• opsomanias
• opsonic
• opsonin
• opsonins
• opsonise
• opsonised
• opsonises
• opsonising
• opsonium
• opsoniums
• opsonize
• opsonized
• opsonizes
• opsonizing
• opt
• opt.
• optant