piece of work
23
6.2
- noun
- /piːs əv wɜrk/
- Informal
- And it was an amazing piece of work that he was carrying around.
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeI don't think so, because you can appreciate his piece of work as it is.
- I don't think so, because you can appreciate his piece of work as it is.
- I, I wrote a kind of discreet piece of work and I'd forgotten about it.
- And so with this piece of work, developmental timing was laid out.
- That is a coarse and boorish piece of work only for the most uncouth natures.
- And that is a hefty piece of work.
- Anyway, he, he was, he was an absolutely horrible piece of work was Mountbatten.
- Do you think that everybody needs to do that initial piece of work?
- So he is he has been a very, very, very challenging piece of work.
- Has your grief over the last year impacted your perspective on that piece of work?
- You know, it really is a piece of work, a piece of art, a work of art for sure.
- When you are on the cusp of releasing a piece of work that you feel is so valuable and you've worked towards for so long.
- It was a nice piece of work, but they had to, they had to promote it in the social networks.
- I always tell my team, guys, gals, if you're going to deliver a piece of work three days late that a client was waiting for, that's not a debate.
Examples
-
Robert Bridges wrote that the story and style were "an absolutely flawless piece of work."
Academic text (1992) -
It's a brave and honest piece of work.
-
Was there something about creating that piece of work, though, that brought you a sense of deep purpose?
-
But anyway, this is a very recent piece of work we have been making for some years.
-
That was a brilliant piece of work you did back there.
-
It's a good piece of work.
-
You will see progress in every piece of work you deliver, just like in writing.
Blog text (19) -
Well, they said on the news that it was a terrific piece of work you did.
-
That is an absolutely stupendous piece of work.
-
The artist's latest piece of work showcases her unique style and creativity.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A thing made by effort, for example a painting
405
1.1
A notable achievement done with a lot of hard work
156
3.8
A very good painting, book, or performance that shows a person's best work
86
3.5
An object like a painting or sculpture that people think is beautiful and made with skill
7
8.0
An impressive achievement that shows great skill
Made with very great skill and quality
Antonyms
How Remarkable
156
3.8
- Literature
7
8.0
- Informal
23
6.2
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal sense 'a work or creation' is transparently derivable from 'piece' + 'work' and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words; however the common sarcastic use to describe a difficult or remarkable person is idiomatic and not predictable from the constituents. Because the entry has both a compositional meaning and a non-compositional, language-specific sense, the overall transparency is partial.
Etymology
Piece of work comes from the image of a single piece made by someone's work, like a strong bridge or an unusual painting. So people call something a piece of work when it is 'impressive', or they use it jokingly for a person who is 'difficult' or 'surprising'.