Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

piece work

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.99 in modern English

Syllables: piece -work
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Work that a worker is paid for according to the number of units produced, rather than the number of hours worked; work done and paid for by the piece or by the job.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Turning manure and many other things we've hitherto done by day work, we'll do by piece work."
"We have seen details of the types of work for which volunteers are sought, and these range from the manufacture of camouflage nets, on piece work in the Central London area, enabling approximately 6s. a shift of 4 hours to be earned, [...]."

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

piecework (alternative) piece-work (alternative)

Phrases

differential piece work piece rate job production mass-produce mass-produced

Frequently Paired Words

homeworker piecemeal piece rate timework timeworker workpiece job production mass-produce

Synonyms

taskwork

Questions

What does piece work mean?: Work that a worker is paid for according to the number of units produced, rather than the number of hours worked; work done and paid for by the piece or by the job.

How to pronounce piece work

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “piece work”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “piece work” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.