WordReference can't find this exact phrase, but click on each word to see its meaning:

break to pieces


We could not find the full phrase you were looking for.
The entry for "piece" is displayed below.

Also see: break | to | pieces

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
piece /pis/USA pronunciation   n., v., pieced, piec•ing. 
n. [countable]
  1. a portion or quantity of something:a piece of land.
  2. a portion of a whole:a piece of apple pie.
  3. an individual thing of a particular class or set:a piece of furniture.
  4. a created work of art, music, or writing:He writes funny pieces for that magazine.
  5. Chessone of the figures, disks, or the like used in playing a board game.
  6. an example of something:This report is a fine piece of work.
  7. a part, fragment, or shred:to tear a letter into pieces.
  8. one's opinion or thoughts on a subject:Here's a piece of advice: don't do it.
  9. a coin:a five-cent piece.
  10. an amount of work constituting a single job:to be paid by the piece.Seepiecework.
  11. Dialect Terms[Midland and Southern U.S.]a distance:[singular* a + ~]down the road a piece.

v. 
  1. [+ object] to mend by adding a piece or pieces;
    patch.
  2. to join together, as pieces or parts: [+ together + object]I pieced together the broken fragments.[+ object + together]I pieced the fragments together.
  3. to make or assemble by or as if by joining pieces or facts, information, etc.: [+ together + object]to piece together such a fine musical program.[+ object + together]She pieced a fine program together.[+ together + object]They were finally able to piece together the whole story of his death.
Idioms
  1. Idioms a piece of one's mind, a sharp scolding or piece of criticism:gave his daughter a piece of his mind when she came home so late.
  2. Idioms go to pieces:
    • to lose control of oneself:After her son's death she simply went to pieces.
  3. in pieces, destroyed;
    in ruins;
    not effective:careful plans of conquest lay in pieces.
  4. Idioms piece of cake, [Informal.]something easily done:Robbing the store was a piece of cake.
  5. to pieces:
    • left completely ruined or no longer effective:tore our arguments to pieces.

    Note that since piece is a noun that can be counted, it may be used to describe a part of some noncount noun:lumber[uncountable]a piece[countable]of lumber; furniture[uncountable]a piece[countable]of furniture.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
piece  (pēs),USA pronunciation n., v., pieced, piec•ing. 
n. 
  1. a separate or limited portion or quantity of something:a piece of land; a piece of chocolate.
  2. a quantity of some substance or material forming a single mass or body:a nice piece of lumber.
  3. a more or less definite portion or quantity of a whole:to cut a blueberry pie into six pieces.
  4. Textilesa particular length, as of certain goods prepared for the market:cloth sold by the piece.
  5. an amount of work forming a single job:to be paid by the piece and not by the hour.
  6. an example of workmanship, esp. of artistic production, as a picture or a statue:The museum has some interesting pieces by Picasso.
  7. a literary composition, usually short, in prose or verse.
  8. a literary selection for recitation:Each child had a chance to recite a piece.
  9. Music and Dancea musical composition.
  10. one of the parts that, when assembled, form a whole:the pieces of a clock.
  11. an individual article of a set or collection:a set of dishes containing 100 pieces.
  12. Chess
    • one of the figures, disks, blocks, or the like, of wood, ivory, or other material, used in playing, as on a board or table.
    • (in chess) a superior man, as distinguished from a pawn:to take a rook, a bishop, and other pieces.
  13. a token, charm, or amulet:a good-luck piece.
  14. an individual thing of a particular class or kind:a piece of furniture; a piece of drawing paper.
  15. an example, specimen, or instance of something:a fine piece of workmanship.
  16. one of the parts into which a thing is destructively divided or broken;
    a part, fragment, or shred:to tear a letter into pieces.
  17. Military
    • a soldier's rifle, pistol, etc.
    • a cannon or other unit of ordnance:field piece.
  18. a coin:a five-cent piece.
  19. Dialect Terms[Midland and Southern U.S.]a distance:I'm going down the road a piece.
  20. Dialect Terms[Chiefly North Midland U.S.]a snack.
  21. Dialect TermsAlso called piece of ass. Slang (vulgar).
    • coitus.
    • a person considered as a partner in coitus.
  22. give someone a piece of one's mind. See mind (def. 20).
  23. Idioms go to pieces:
    • to break into fragments.
    • to lose control of oneself;
      become emotionally or physically upset:When he flunked out of medical school he went to pieces.
  24. Idioms of a piece, of the same kind;
    harmonious;
    consistent. Also, of one piece. 
  25. Idioms piece of the action. See action (def. 22).
  26. Idioms speak one's piece, to express one's opinion;
    reveal one's thoughts upon a subject:I decided to speak my piece whether they liked it or not.

v.t. 
  1. to mend (a garment, article, etc.) by adding, joining, or applying a piece or pieces;
    patch.
  2. to complete, enlarge, or extend by an added piece or something additional (often fol. by out):to piece out a library with new books.
  3. to make by or as if by joining pieces (often fol. by together):to piece a quilt; to piece together a musical program.
  4. to join together, as pieces or parts:to piece together the fragments of a broken dish.
  5. to join as a piece or addition to something:to piece new wire into the cable.
  6. to assemble into a meaningful whole by combining available facts, information, details, etc.:He pieced the story together after a lot of effort.

v.i. 
  1. Dialect Terms[Chiefly North Midland U.S.]to eat small portions of food between meals;
    snack.
  • Gaulish *pettia; akin to Breton pez piece, Welsh, Cornish peth thing
  • Old French
  • Middle English pece 1175–1225
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged section, segment, scrap, fragment. See part. 
    • 28.See corresponding entry in Unabridged augment.
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged whole.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
piece / piːs/
  1. an amount or portion forming a separate mass or structure; bit: a piece of wood
  2. a small part, item, or amount forming part of a whole, esp when broken off or separated: a piece of bread
  3. a length by which a commodity is sold, esp cloth, wallpaper, etc
  4. an instance or occurrence: a piece of luck
  5. an example or specimen of a style or type, such as an article of furniture: a beautiful piece of Dresden china
  6. an opinion or point of view: to state one's piece
  7. a literary, musical, or artistic composition
  8. a coin having a value as specified: fifty-pence piece
  9. a small object, often individually shaped and designed, used in playing certain games, esp board games: chess pieces
  10. a firearm or cannon
  11. any chessman other than a pawn
  12. a packed lunch taken to work, school, etc
  13. go to pieces (of a person) to lose control of oneself; have a breakdown
  14. (of a building, organization, etc) to disintegrate
  15. nasty piece of work a cruel or mean person
  16. of a piece of the same kind; alike
(transitive)
  1. (often followed by together) to fit or assemble piece by piece
  2. (often followed by up) to patch or make up (a garment) by adding pieces
Etymology: 13th Century pece, from Old French, of Gaulish origin; compare Breton pez piece, Welsh peth portion
'break to pieces' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

Forum discussions with the word(s) "break to pieces" in the title:


Look up "break to pieces" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "break to pieces" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!