#f:
The
houses are all of a piece, 77)!)^ Wo
2 all at the same time (WjRt; —35: The house was built
all of a piece in 1754. 1754
pick/pull/tear sb/sth to
pieces/'shreds (informal) to criticize sb, or
their work or ideas, very severely T^jfj ft -If 7; ffcW&foftycWt a .P'ece
of 'cake (informal)
a
thing that is very easy to do $£ M Jsr W ^ a .piece of 'piss (BrE, taboo, slang)
a
thing that is very easy to do /J\ m—1$; $5 M J| W A more at action
n., BIT, LONG adj., NASTY, PICK V., PIE, SAY V., VILLAIN • verb .piece sth^to'gether 1 to understand a
story, situation, etc. by
taking all the facts and details about it and putting them together ( VMfLTM
If ft ) : Police are trying to
piece together the last hours of her life.
2 to put all the separate parts of sth
together to make a complete whole EEd assemble : to piece
together a jigsaw #HH)f
g§
pieces
If
you want to talk about a small amount or one example of something that is
normally an uncountable noun, there is a range of words you can use. You must
choose the right one to go with the substance you are talking about. it ~
Will,
■
Piece and
(BrE
informal)
bit are very general
words and can be used with most uncountable nouns.
* piece m bit ( ) Jt+7Mim
W&ffl:
a
Piece of paper/wood/ string/cake/fruit/meat/work/research/advice
—Sift;
-$aa; ’-iif; -mmm;
P*3;
—#77; —o a
bit of paper/ work/chocolate/luck —/Mt£ft; —*/!CX7;
— /Jvt£75
m A slice is a thin flat piece. * slice
fa lift: a
slice of
bread/cake/salami/cheese/pie/apple ftffi'S./ £ %£/
PPiAAM
/ 7S& / tfit# / 0 (figurative) a slice
of
life (m) (mm# i
m A chunk is a thick, solid piece. * chunk fHW— i&: a chunk of
cheese/bread/rock —/ Hla / o o chunk of land
(= a fairly large piece) —
±m
■
A lump is
a piece of something solid without any
particular shape. * lump —
@0:
a
lump of coal/rock/mud — ;
~WM.
m A fragment is a very small
piece of something that is broken or damaged. * fragment $£>!':
fragments of glass o (figurative) fragments
of
conversation
( It can also be used
with countable nouns to
mean a small part of something.
a fragment of the story
i^ffW—771£
■
A speck is
a tiny piece of powder. * speck j#/Mt ML, $kML: a speck of
dust/dirt —flMA /You can
also say 37«f i&: a speck of light —flit
i Drop is
used with liquids. * drop a drop
of
waier/rain/blood/milk/whisky — yjfjzjt / If / JftL / A
mn&±um
■
A pinch is
as much as you can hold between your finger and thumb. * pinch
ft—it. —gs -f§:
a pinch ofsalt/cinnamon
ft-Sfe / |£jf£
■
A portion is
enough for one person. * portion ftt£ -^Af§W~$\ —a portion of chicken
—
piece de re sist ance /.pjes do re'zistbs; NAmE-stains/ noun
[usually sing.] (pi.
pieces de resistance /.pjes da re'zistbs; NAmE
,rezi:'sta:ns/)
(from French) the most important or
impressive part of a group or series of things j&ijjZft-,
piece-meal /'piismirl/ adj. [usually before noun]
(often disapproving) done or happening
gradually at different times and often in different ways, rather than carefully
planned at the beginning ) W;
W: a piecemeal approach to dealing with the
problem #H«] M W AA 0 piecemeal
changes ^ li ► piece-meal adv. : The reforms
were implemented
piecemeal.
.piece of ‘eight noun an old Spanish coin
AjU'&fft
‘piece
rate noun an amount of money
paid for each thing or amount of sth that a worker produces i+#SH
pi
i+#7^
piece-work /‘pi:sw3ik; NAmE -wairk/ noun [u] work that is paid for by the amount done
and not by the hours worked if#17 ► piece-worker noun ‘pie chart noun a diagram consisting
of a circle that is divided into sections to show the size of particular
amounts in relation to the whole HI Iff lit if Hi;
— picture o chart
pied /paid/ adj. (especially of birds ft ®i) of two or more
different colours, especially black and white H ft
pied-a-terre /.pjeid a: ’tea(r); NAmE 'ter/ noun (pi. pieds- a-terre /.pjeid a:/) (from French) a small flat/apartment,
usually in a town, that you do not live in as your main home but keep for use
when necessary ; Hf
m ■
pie-dog = PYEDOG
,Pied 'Piper noun a person who persuades
a lot of other people to follow them or do sth with them ff ^ IfAWA; A From the old German
story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who made first
rats and later children follow him by playing beautiful music on his pipe, | JS WMi
.pie-1 eyed adj. (informal) very drunk pier /pia(r); NAmE pir/ noun 1 a iong structure built in the sea and
joined to the land at one end, often with places of entertainment on it (
2 a long low structure built in a lake,
river or the sea and joined to the land at one end, used by boats to allow
passengers to get on and off ( M, #1
+
1$
) 59^; A H771 landing stage 3 (technical A if) a large strong
piece of wood, metal or stone that is used to support a roof, wall, bridge,
etc.
pierce /pias; NAmE pirs/ verb 1 ~ (through) sth to make a small hole in sth, or to go
through sth, with a sharp object fL ; $!] ® [VN]
The
arrow pierced his
shoulder, ft MAft 6^J jft M 0
0 He
pierced another hole in his belt with his knife.
Mo 0 to have your ears/nose, etc. pierced (= to have a small
hole made in your ears/nose so that you can wear jewellery there) 0 (figura
tive) She was pierced to
the heart with guilt. M fj S5C, >L'$P7Jf!]o 0 [V] The knife pierced
through his coat. 7J A $(J 5? 7 life W A A o 2 ~
(through) sth
(literary) (of light, sound,
etc. ft, r ^) to be suddenly
seen or heard $!]^; it A:
[VN ] Sirens pierced the
silence
of the night, TtftWfio
o
Shafts of
sunlight pierced the heavy
mist.
[also V] 3 ~ (through) sth to force a way through
a barrier if BCEI penetrate : [VN] They failed
to pierce the
pier-cing /’piasiq; NAmE ’pirsiq/ adj., noun • adj. 1 [usually before
noun] (of eyes or the way they look at sb II If II #) seeming to notice things
about another person that would not normally be noticed, especially in a way
that makes that person feel anxious or embarrassed §£fij; ilAW; Afll W: She looked at me with
piercing blue eyes. — fic0 0 a piercing look —2 [usually before
noun] (of sounds ^ #) very high, loud and unpleasant AW W; fiJAW H33 shrill : a piercing shriek
AWtfi ni]
7* o She
has such a piercing voice. MW 7f:§rJ§$P&$!l LSf-0 3 [only before noun] (of feelings lltf)
affecting you