n.

1. a separate part of a whole
   
   • an important piece of the evidence
2. an item that is an instance of some type; "he designed a new piece of equipment"; "she bought a lovely piece of china";
3. a portion of a natural object;
   part
   
   • they analyzed the river into three parts
   • he needed a piece of granite
4. a musical work that has been created;
   musical composition, opus, composition, piece of music
   
   • the composition is written in four movements
5. an instance of some kind;
   bit
   
   • it was a nice piece of work
   • he had a bit of good luck
6. an artistic or literary composition
   
   • he wrote an interesting piece on Iran
   • the children acted out a comic piece to amuse the guests
7. a portable gun;
   firearm, small-arm
   
   • he wore his firearm in a shoulder holster
8. a serving that has been cut from a larger portion;
   slice
   
   • a piece of pie
   • a slice of bread
9. a distance
   
   • it is down the road a piece
10. a work of art of some artistic value;
    objet d'art, art object
    
    • this store sells only objets d'art
    • it is not known who created this piece
11. a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition;
    while, spell, patch
    
    • he was here for a little while
    • I need to rest for a piece
    • a spell of good weather
    • a patch of bad weather
12. a share of something;
    slice
    
    • a slice of the company's revenue
13. game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games;
    man
    
    • he taught me to set up the men on the chess board
    • he sacrificed a piece to get a strategic advantage

v.

1. to join or unite the pieces of;
   patch
   
   • patch the skirt
2. create by putting components or members together;
   assemble, put together, set up, tack, tack together
   
   • She pieced a quilt
   • He tacked together some verses
   • They set up a committee
3. join during spinning
   
   • piece the broken pieces of thread, slivers, and rovings
4. eat intermittently; take small bites of;
   nibble, pick
   
   • He pieced at the sandwich all morning
   • She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles
5. repair by adding pieces;
   patch
   
   • She pieced the china cup