PIECE


Meaning of PIECE in English

INDEX:

1. a part of something that has been separated from the rest

2. a piece that has a regular shape

3. a piece that does not have a regular shape

4. a thin flat piece

5. a very small piece

6. a small piece of something bigger

RELATED WORDS

one of the parts that something is made of : ↑ PART

piece of work : ↑ WORK

see also

↑ SEPARATE

↑ CUT

↑ BREAK

↑ TEAR

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1. a part of something that has been separated from the rest

▷ piece /piːs/ [countable noun]

an amount of something that has been broken, cut, or separated from something larger :

▪ a pack of chicken pieces

piece of

▪ There were pieces of broken glass all over the road.

▪ a simple boat made from a few pieces of wood

cut/break etc something into pieces

▪ Tim cut the pie into eight pieces.

tear/break/smash etc something to pieces

▪ The old wreck had been smashed to pieces on the island’s rocks.

in pieces

broken into many pieces

▪ The vase lay in pieces on the floor.

fall to pieces

▪ The books were eagerly borrowed and well used, and they finally fell to pieces.

▷ bit /bɪt/ [countable noun] especially spoken

a small piece of something :

▪ I’d like to try that cake. Just give me a small bit please.

bit of

▪ Have you got a bit of paper I can write your address on?

little/small/tiny bits

▪ There were little bits of food all over the carpet.

break/smash/blow etc something to bits

▪ There’ll be a war, and we’ll all be blown to bits!

fall to bits

British

▪ The jumper was very cheap - it’ll probably fall to bits the first time I wear it.

2. a piece that has a regular shape

▷ block /blɒkǁblɑːk/ [countable noun]

a large solid piece of wood, stone, or ice that has straight sides :

▪ Concrete blocks were used by most builders in the 1960s when constructing office buildings.

block of

▪ The fish were lying on huge blocks of ice to keep them cold.

cut something into blocks

▪ The ice was cut into blocks and stored in a special shed.

▷ cube /kjuːb/ [countable noun]

a solid object with six equal square sides :

ice cube

▪ For a joke, he put an ice cube down the back of her dress.

cube of

▪ She dropped a cube of sugar into her tea and stirred it with a spoon.

cut/chop something into cubes

▪ Cut the melon into 2cm cubes and leave to soak in some port or red wine.

▷ slab /slæb/ [countable noun]

a thick, flat, heavy piece of something such as stone :

stone/concrete/marble slab

▪ His grave is covered by a huge marble slab.

slab of

▪ Slabs of concrete had been used to build a pathway for people to walk on.

▪ The butcher’s counter was covered in huge slabs of red meat and the air smelled of blood.

▷ bar /bɑːʳ/ [countable noun]

a fairly long, thick piece of something such as metal, soap, or chocolate :

▪ We go through so much soap in our family that I buy about 10 bars a month.

bar of chocolate/soap/gold

▪ I used to buy a bar of chocolate every day and give half to my friend.

chocolate/candy/gold bar

▪ I helped him take the wrapper off his candy bar.

▪ The gold bars were transported from the bank in an armored truck.

3. a piece that does not have a regular shape

▷ chunk /tʃʌŋk/ [countable noun]

a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape :

▪ a can of pineapple chunks

chunk of

▪ A large chunk of plaster had fallen from the ceiling.

▪ Peanut butter is best spread on chunks of crusty bread.

cut/break etc something into chunks

▪ Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil them for 15 minutes.

▷ lump /lʌmp/ [countable noun]

a small piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape :

▪ There are a lot of lumps in this sauce.

lump of

▪ Throw a few more lumps of coal on the fire.

▪ I was almost hit by a lump of rock that fell from the cliff.

▷ hunk /hʌŋk/ [countable noun]

a large, irregularly-shaped piece of something, especially food, that has been cut or torn from a bigger piece :

hunk of meat/bread/cheese etc

▪ For lunch I had cheese with a hunk of bread and a glass of red wine.

▪ Jack cut off a hunk of meat and handed it to Simon.

▷ dollop /ˈdɒləpǁˈdɑː-/ [countable noun]

a piece of a thick liquid or soft substance, usually served from a spoon :

dollop of

▪ He put a dollop of honey on his bread and spread it around with a knife.

▪ Louise watched as the dollop of mashed potato fell onto her plate.

4. a thin flat piece

▷ sheet /ʃiːt/ [countable noun]

a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal, usually with four straight sides :

▪ Wrapping paper is sold in sheets or rolls.

sheet of

▪ She decorated a sheet of mirrored glass with a few pressed flowers.

▪ Sinks can be pressed from a single sheet of steel.

▷ strip /strɪp/ [countable noun]

a thin flat piece of something such as cloth or paper :

strip of

▪ You will need a strip of stiff cardboard to make this hat.

cut/snip etc something into strips

▪ She then snipped the satin into thin strips.

▷ slip /slɪp/ [countable noun]

a small narrow piece of paper, usually with information written on it :

▪ The bank clerk handed me an official blue slip to sign.

slip of

▪ Everyone who votes has to fill in a slip of paper in order to register.

wage slip British /pay slip American

a slip of paper that shows how much you have been paid

▪ I looked through my wallet for last month’s wage slip.

▷ pane /peɪn/ [countable noun]

a flat piece of glass which has been cut to the size of a window :

pane of

▪ The bullet shattered two panes of glass.

window pane

▪ I watched the rain as it pounded against the window pane.

▷ slice /slaɪs/ [countable noun]

a thin flat piece of food such as bread, meat, or cheese that has been cut from a bigger piece using a knife :

▪ ‘Would you like some more toast?’ ‘Just one more slice, please.’

slice of

▪ I admired the thick slices of plum cake arranged on the plate.

cut/carve something into slices

▪ The beef was carved into slices so thin you could almost see through them.

5. a very small piece

▷ grain /greɪn/ [countable noun]

a very small hard piece of something such as sand or salt :

▪ If you drop any rice you’ll have to pick up every single grain.

grain of

▪ You always end up with grains of sand in your food when you eat at the beach.

▪ A few grains of the tablet are left at the bottom of the glass.

▷ flake /fleɪk/ [countable noun]

a very small, flat piece of something such as snow or skin, that breaks easily :

▪ Her sunburnt skin was beginning to peel off in big flakes.

flake of

▪ Large white flakes of snow fell upon the cold ground.

▪ She brushed the flakes of dandruff from her shoulder.

▷ speck /spek/ [countable noun]

a piece of dust, dirt etc that is so small you almost cannot see it :

▪ She realized that the specks on his shirt were not dirt but blood.

speck of

▪ The room looked immaculate, not a speck of dust anywhere.

▷ fleck /flek/ [countable noun]

a small piece of dirt, dust, mud etc, usually in the form of a small mark or spot, that can be seen on a surface :

fleck of

▪ There were flecks of mud on my trousers after the walk in the woods.

▪ By the time he’d finished painting the ceiling the whole floor was covered with flecks of red paint.

▷ crumb /krʌm/ [countable noun]

a very small piece of food such as bread or cake :

▪ Put a plate under your chin to catch the crumbs.

▪ Cameron quickly swallowed his coffee and bread, and wiped the crumbs from his mouth.

breadcrumbs

▪ Roll the fish in breadcrumbs and grill it for half an hour.

▷ morsel /ˈmɔːʳs ə l/ [countable noun]

a word meaning a very small piece of food, used especially in literature :

▪ She had cleared her plate of every morsel.

morsel of

▪ Two gulls were fighting over a morsel of food.

6. a small piece of something bigger

▷ fragment /ˈfrægmənt/ [countable noun]

a small piece of something bigger, such as cloth, dishes, or building materials. that has been broken or torn :

▪ The bullet had pierced the bone, leaving behind fragments which the surgeon was unable to remove.

fragment of

▪ He was piecing together torn fragments of a letter.

▪ The excavation of a Roman town house revealed fragments of a mosaic floor.

▷ scrap /skræp/ [countable noun]

a very small piece of something such as paper, cloth, or food that is no longer useful or needed :

▪ The birds would eat any leftover food scraps.

scrap of

▪ He scribbled a note on an old scrap of paper.

▪ This quilt was lovingly made from scraps of material.

▷ splinter /ˈsplɪntəʳ/ [countable noun]

an extremely small, thin, and sharp piece of something such as wood, glass, or metal that was formed when the wood, glass, or metal was broken :

▪ The doctor removed the small steel splinters that had lodged themselves in my leg in the explosion.

splinter of

▪ The window smashed and splinters of glass flew everywhere.

▪ She sucked so hard that she drew the splinter of wood out of her finger.

▷ chip /tʃɪp/ [countable noun]

a small, irregularly-shaped piece of something such as wood or stone that remains after someone has been cutting or working with the wood or stone :

▪ Wood chips covered the floor in the carpenter’s workshop.

chip of

▪ After the decorators had left there were chips of plaster all over the lobby.

Longman Activator English vocab.      Английский словарь Longman активатор .