piece

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A thing considered as a unit or an element of a larger thing, quantity, or class; a portion: a piece of string.
2. n. A portion or part that has been separated from a whole: a piece of cake.
3. n. An object that is one member of a group or class: a piece of furniture.
4. n. An artistic, musical, or literary work or composition: "They are lively and well-plotted pieces, both in prose” ( Tucker Brooke).
5. n. An instance; a specimen: a piece of sheer folly.
6. n. A declaration of one's opinions or findings: speak one's piece.
7. n. A coin: a ten-cent piece.
8. n. Games One of the counters or figures used in playing various board games.
9. n. Games Any one of the chess figures other than a pawn.
10. n. Slang A firearm, especially a rifle.
11. n. Informal A given distance: "There was farm country down the road on the right a piece” ( James Agee).
12. n. Vulgar Slang A sexually attractive person.
13. v. To mend by adding pieces or a piece to.
14. v. 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.
15. idiom. a piece of (one's) mind Frank and severe criticism; censure.
16. idiom. of a piece Belonging to the same class or kind.
17. idiom. piece by piece In stages: took the clock apart piece by piece.
18. idiom. piece of cake Informal Something very easy to do: "Relearning to fly was a piece of cake” ( Burton Bernstein).
19. idiom. 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).
20. idiom. piece of work A remarkable person, achievement, or product: "He's a very tough piece of work” ( Ted Koppel).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A relatively small portion in bulk or extent forming a part of the whole in which it is or was included; a part; bit; morsel: as, a piece of bread or of chalk; a piece of ground; a piece of history; a piece of one's mind.
2. n. A separate bit; a fragment: as, to fall to pieces; to break, tear, cut, or dash to pieces.
3. n. A specimen, instance, example, or sort: as, a piece of impudence; a piece of carelessness.
4. n. A separate article; a thing: as, a piece of plate.
5. n. A coin: as, a piece of eight (see phrase below); a fourpenny piece.
6. n. A cannon or gun; a firearm: as, his piece was not loaded; a fowling-piece.
7. n. A building; a castle.
8. n. A ship; a vessel.
9. n. A distinct artistic or literary production; a separate article, poem, drama, painting, statue, or other artistic or literary work: as, a piece of music; to speak a piece; a finely painted piece.
10. n. A lunch; a snack.
11. n. A distinct job or operation taken separately; the amount of work done or to be done at any one time: as, to work by the piece; to do piece-work.
12. n. A definite and continuous quantity; a definite length, as of some textile fabric delivered by a manufacturer to the trade; a whole web of cloth or a whole roll of wall-paper: as, goods sold only by the piece; a whole piece of lace.
13. n. In brewing, a quantity of grain steeped and spread out at one time to make malt. Also called floor.
14. n. A plot of ground; a lot; a field; a clearing.
15. n. An individual; a person: now used only contemptuously, and commonly of women: as, she is a bold piece.
16. n. In chess, checkers, etc., one of the men with which the game is played; specifically, in chess, one of the superior men, as distinguished from a pawn.
17. n. A cup or drinking-vessel: also used indefinitely for a cask or barrel of wine, as the equivalent of the French pièce, which has different values in different parts of France.
18. n. In bookbinding, a tablet of leather which fills a panel on the back of a book.
19. n. In whaling, specifically, a section or chunk of blubber, more fully called blanket-piece (which see, below).
20. n. In entomology, any definitely hardened or chitinized part of the integument, especially of the abdomen, thorax, or head: technically called a sclerite. Two pieces may be movable on each other or free, united with a suture between or perfectly connate, so that even the suture is obliterated, and the pieces can be distinguished by their position only.
21. n. See the qualifying words.
22. To patch, repair, enlarge, extend, or complete by the addition of a piece or pieces: as, to piece a garment or a curtain.
23. To repair by the use of pieces of the same material, or without the addition of new material, as by bringing the unworn parts to the place where the most wear is; hence, to make good the defects of; strengthen; reinforce.
24. To unite or reunite (that which has been broken or separated); make one again; join or rejoin, as one thing to another, or as friends who have fallen out.
25. To unite by coalescence of parts; be gathered as parts into a whole.
26. To eat a “piece”; eat between meals, as a child.
27. n. A small portion of time; a little while.
28. n. In fireworks, a piece, more or less elaborate, which is fastened to a standard, and when it is ignited, shows a design, such as a face, etc.

Wiktionary

1. n. A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
2. n. A single item belonging to a class of similar items: as, for example, a piece of machinery, a piece of software.
3. n. One of the small objects played in board games, e.g. a pawn or a draught.
4. n. A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
5. n. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
6. n. An artillery gun.
7. n. (short for hairpiece); a toupee or wig, usually when worn by a man.
8. n. (plural) sandwiches, packed lunch.
9. n. A gun.
10. n. A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail
11. n. (short for "piece of crap") a shoddy or worthless object, usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances.
12. n. A cannabis pipe.
13. n. Used to describe a pitch that has been hit but not well, usually either being caught by the opposing team or going foul. Usually used in the past tense with got, and never used in the plural.
14. n. en, bit, part
15. v. : To reassemble something (real or metaphorically.)

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion
2. n. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work
3. n. Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance.
4. n. A literary or artistic composition.
5. n. A musket, gun, or cannon.
6. n. A coin; ; -- formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings.
7. n. A fact; an item.
8. n. An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt.
9. n. One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn.
10. n. A castle; a fortified building.
11. v. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; ; -- often with out.
12. v. To unite; to join; to combine.
13. v. To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. to join or unite the pieces of
2. v. join during spinning
3. n. game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games
4. n. a share of something
5. n. an item that is an instance of some type
6. n. a distance
7. n. an artistic or literary composition
8. n. a portion of a natural object
9. n. a serving that has been cut from a larger portion
10. v. repair by adding pieces
11. n. a musical work that has been created
12. n. a portable gun
13. v. create by putting components or members together
14. n. a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition
15. n. an instance of some kind
16. v. eat intermittently; take small bites of
17. n. a work of art of some artistic value
18. n. a separate part of a whole