piece of work
68
6.2
- noun
- /piːs əv wɜrk/
- Informal
- And it was an amazing piece of work that he was carrying around.
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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
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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.
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Was there something about creating that piece of work, though, that brought you a sense of deep purpose?
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But anyway, this is a very recent piece of work we have been making for some years.
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That was a brilliant piece of work you did back there.
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It's a good piece of work.
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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.
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That is an absolutely stupendous piece of work.
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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
147
3.8
A very good painting, book, or performance that shows a person's best work
91
3.5
An object like a painting or sculpture that people think is beautiful and made with skill
47
1.1
A notable achievement done with a lot of hard work
8
8.0
An impressive achievement that shows great skill
1
5.7
Made with very great skill and quality
Antonyms
How Remarkable
147
3.8
- Literature
8
8.0
- Informal
68
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'.