Slice vs. Piece — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 24, 2024
Slice refers to a thin, broad piece cut from something, typically using a sharp tool, while a piece is a portion of something larger without a specific shape or size.
Difference Between Slice and Piece
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A slice is often cut from foods such as bread, cake, or meat, characterized by its thin and flat shape, emphasizing uniformity. Whereas a piece refers to a general portion that can come in various sizes and shapes, and isn’t restricted to food items.
When you slice something, you typically use a knife or a similar tool to create evenly sized sections, which is common in food preparation or serving. On the other hand, breaking or cutting something into pieces might not require tools and often results in irregularly shaped parts.
Slices are commonly associated with servings that display the internal structure of something, such as the layers in a cake or the texture of bread. Whereas pieces can be from any material like puzzles, rocks, or abstract concepts like pieces of advice.
Serving instructions for certain foods specifically call for slices to ensure aesthetic appeal and consistent portioning, such as slices of cheese or tomato. In contrast, pieces are often mentioned when the exact size or shape is less important, such as pieces of chocolate or fruit.
In metaphorical use, a slice often implies a share of something larger, like a "slice of life" or "slice of profits," suggesting a part extracted from a whole. Pieces are used more broadly in idioms like “a piece of my mind” or “a piece of the action,” indicating portions or aspects without a uniform identity.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A thin, broad section cut from a whole
Any part or portion of a larger whole
Common Uses
Foods like bread, cake, cheese
Any material, food, puzzles, abstract terms
Shape
Usually uniform and flat
Irregular and varying
Tool Used
Knife or slicer
Can be hand or any tool
Metaphorical Meaning
Share of something (slice of life)
Part of something (piece of mind)
Compare with Definitions
Slice
A stroke in sports that causes the ball to curve.
His golf swing ended with a slice that veered off course.
Piece
A part of something larger, often without a specific shape.
She picked up a piece of broken glass.
Slice
A part representing a share of something.
He wanted a bigger slice of the company's profits.
Piece
An artistic or literary composition.
The museum featured several pieces from Renaissance artists.
Slice
A portion cut from a larger food item with a blade.
She cut a thin slice of bread for her sandwich.
Piece
To join or repair something by adding parts.
She pieced the quilt together from old fabrics.
Slice
To cut something into thin pieces.
Please slice the onions thinly for the salad.
Piece
A coin of specified value.
He handed the cashier a piece of twenty.
Slice
A segment or section of a larger whole.
A slice of the demographic prefers streaming services.
Piece
A portable firearm.
The detective carried his piece in a shoulder holster.
Slice
To reduce or remove from a larger amount or entity
Sliced 10 percent off the asking price.
Piece
A portion of an object or of material, produced by cutting, tearing, or breaking the whole
A piece of cheese
The dish lay in pieces on the floor
Slice
A thin, broad piece of food, such as bread, meat, or cake, cut from a larger portion
Four slices of bread
Potato slices
Piece
A written, musical, or artistic creation
A haunting piece of music
Slice
A utensil with a broad, flat blade for lifting foods such as cake and fish.
Piece
An instance or example
A crucial piece of evidence
Slice
A stroke that makes the ball curve away to the right (for a left-handed player, the left), typically inadvertently.
Piece
A coin of specified value
A 10p piece
Slice
Cut (something, especially food) into slices
Slice the onion into rings
Piece
A figure or token used to make moves in a board game
A chess piece
Slice
Strike (the ball) or play (a stroke) so that the ball curves away to the right (for a left-handed player, the left)
Duval sliced his ball into the water to the right of the green
Piece
A firearm.
Slice
A thin broad piece cut from a larger object
Ate a slice of cheese.
Examined a slice of the diseased lung.
Piece
A woman.
Slice
An often wedge-shaped piece cut from a larger, usually circular object
Ordered a slice of pie.
Shared a slice of pizza.
Piece
A sandwich or other item of food taken as a snack.
Slice
A portion or share
A slice of the profits.
Piece
Assemble something from parts or pieces
The dinosaur was pieced together from 119 bones
Slice
A knife with a broad, thin, flexible blade, used for cutting and serving food.
Piece
Extend something
His coming and assisting them was like a cordial given to a dying man, which doth piece out his life
Slice
A similar implement for spreading printing ink.
Piece
Patch (something)
If it be broken it must be pieced
Slice
The course of a ball that curves in the direction of the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.
Piece
A thing considered as a unit or an element of a larger thing, quantity, or class; a portion
A piece of string.
Slice
A stroke that causes a ball to follow such a course
A golfer with a bad slice.
Piece
A portion or part that has been separated from a whole
A piece of pie.
Slice
A ball propelled on such a course.
Piece
An object that is one member of a group or class
A piece of furniture.
Slice
A stroke, as in tennis, in which the ball is struck with a downward motion with the open face of the racket in order to impart backspin.
Piece
An artistic, musical, or literary work or composition
"They are lively and well-plotted pieces, both in prose" (Tucker Brooke).
Slice
To cut or divide into slices
Slice a loaf of bread.
Piece
An instance; a specimen
A piece of sheer folly.
Slice
To cut from a larger piece
Slice off a piece of salami.
Piece
What one has to say about something; an opinion
Speak one's piece.
Slice
To cut through or move through with an action like cutting
"where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire" (Robert Frost).
Piece
A coin
A ten-cent piece.
Slice
To divide into portions or shares; parcel out
"With mortgage securitisation, a pool of home loans is sliced into tranches bearing different degrees of risk" (David Shirreff).
Piece
One of the counters or figures used in playing various board games.
Slice
(Sports)To hit (a ball) with a slice.
Piece
Any one of the chess figures other than a pawn.
Slice
To make a cut with a cutting implement
I sliced into the cake.
Piece
(Slang) A firearm, especially a rifle.
Slice
To move like a knife
The destroyer sliced through the water.
Piece
(Informal) A given distance
"There was farm country down the road on the right a piece" (James Agee).
Slice
(Sports)To hit a ball with a slice.
Piece
To mend by adding pieces or a piece to
Piece a dress.
Slice
That which is thin and broad.
Piece
To join or unite the pieces of
He pieced together the vase. She pieced together an account of what had gone on during the stormy meeting.
Slice
A thin, broad piece cut off.
A slice of bacon; a slice of cheese; a slice of bread
Jim was munching on a slice of toast.
Piece
A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
I’d like another piece of pie.
I've lost a piece of this jigsaw puzzle.
Slice
(colloquial) An amount of anything.
Piece
A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
A piece of machinery
A piece of software
A useful piece of advice
Slice
A piece of pizza.
Piece
(chess) One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; by extension, a similar counter etc. in other games.
Slice
(British) A snack consisting of pastry with savoury filling.
I bought a ham and cheese slice at the service station.
Piece
A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
A sixpenny piece
Slice
A broad, thin piece of plaster.
Piece
An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
She played two beautiful pieces on the piano.
Slice
A knife with a thin, broad blade for taking up or serving fish; also, a spatula for spreading anything, as paint or ink.
Piece
An article published in the press.
Today's paper has an interesting piece on medical research.
Slice
A salver, platter, or tray.
Piece
(military) An artillery gun.
Slice
A plate of iron with a handle, forming a kind of chisel, or a spadelike implement, variously proportioned, and used for various purposes, as for stripping the planking from a vessel's side, for cutting blubber from a whale, or for stirring a fire of coals; a slice bar; a peel; a fire shovel.
Piece
A gun.
He's packin' a piece!
Slice
One of the wedges by which the cradle and the ship are lifted clear of the building blocks to prepare for launching.
Piece
A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.
The announcer is wearing a new piece.
Slice
(printing) A removable sliding bottom to a galley.
Piece
A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
Slice
(golf) A shot that (for the right-handed player) curves unintentionally to the right. See fade, hook, draw
Piece
A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
I got a piece at lunchtime.
Slice
Any of a class of heavy cakes or desserts made in a tray and cut out into squarish slices.
Piece
A shoddy or worthless object usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances.
Ugh, my new computer is such a piece. I'm taking it back to the store tomorrow.
Slice
(medicine) A section of image taken of an internal organ using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography), or various forms of x-ray.
Piece
A cannabis pipe.
Slice
(falconry) A hawk's or falcon's dropping which squirts at an angle other than vertical. (See mute.)
Piece
Used to describe a pitch that has been hit but not well, usually either being caught by the opposing team or going foul. Usually used in the past tense with get.
He got a piece of that one;
She got a piece of the ball...and it's going foul.
Slice
(programming) A contiguous portion of an array.
Piece
An individual; a person.
Slice
(transitive) To cut into slices.
Slice the cheese thinly.
Piece
(obsolete) A castle; a fortified building.
Slice
(transitive) To cut with an edge utilizing a drawing motion.
The knife left sliced his arm.
Piece
(US) A pacifier; a dummy.
Slice
(transitive) To clear (e.g. a fire, or the grate bars of a furnace) by means of a slice bar.
Piece
(colloquial) A distance.
A far piece
Located a fair piece away from their camp
A fair piece off
Slice
To hit the shuttlecock with the racket at an angle, causing it to move sideways and downwards.
Piece
(rowing) A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
At practice we rowed four 5,000 meter pieces.
That last piece was torture.
Slice
To hit a shot that slices (travels from left to right for a right-handed player).
Piece
An amount of work to be done at one time; a unit of piece work.
Slice
To angle the blade so that it goes too deeply into the water when starting to take a stroke.
Piece
(slang) An ounce of a recreational drug.
Slice
To kick the ball so that it goes in an unintended direction, at too great an angle or too high.
Piece
To assemble (something real or figurative).
These clues allowed us to piece together the solution to the mystery.
Slice
To hit the ball with a stroke that causes a spin, resulting in the ball swerving or staying low after a bounce.
Piece
To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; often with out.
To piece a garment
Slice
(mathematics) Having the properties of a slice knot.
Piece
(slang) To produce a work of graffiti more complex than a tag.
Slice
A thin, broad piece cut off; as, a slice of bacon; a slice of cheese; a slice of bread.
Piece
A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break in pieces.
Bring it out piece by piece.
Slice
That which is thin and broad, like a slice.
Piece
A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.
Slice
To cut into thin pieces, or to cut off a thin, broad piece from.
Piece
Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance
Slice
To cut into parts; to divide.
Piece
An individual; - applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt.
Thy mother was a piece of virtue.
His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.
Slice
To clear by means of a slice bar, as a fire or the grate bars of a furnace.
Piece
One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn.
Slice
To hit (the ball) so that the face of the club draws across the face of the ball and deflects it.
Piece
A castle; a fortified building.
Slice
A share of something;
A slice of the company's revenue
Piece
To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; - often with out.
Slice
A serving that has been cut from a larger portion;
A piece of pie
A slice of bread
Piece
To unite; to join; to combine.
His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him.
Slice
A wound made by cutting;
He put a bandage over the cut
Piece
To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join.
Slice
A golf shot that curves to the right for a right-handed golfer;
He took lessons to cure his slicing
Piece
A separate part of a whole;
An important piece of the evidence
Slice
A thin flat piece cut off of some object
Piece
An item that is an instance of some type;
He designed a new piece of equipment
She bought a lovely piece of china
Slice
A spatula for spreading paint or ink
Piece
A portion of a natural object;
They analyzed the river into three parts
He needed a piece of granite
Slice
Make a clean cut through;
Slit her throat
Piece
A musical work that has been created;
The composition is written in four movements
Slice
Hit a ball and put a spin on it so that it travels in a different direction
Piece
An instance of some kind;
It was a nice piece of work
He had a bit of good luck
Slice
Cut into slices;
Slice the salami, please
Piece
An artistic or literary composition;
He wrote an interesting piece on Iran
The children acted out a comic piece to amuse the guests
Slice
Hit a ball so that it causes a backspin
Piece
A portable gun;
He wore his firearm in a shoulder holster
Piece
A serving that has been cut from a larger portion;
A piece of pie
A slice of bread
Piece
A distance;
It is down the road a piece
Piece
A work of art of some artistic value;
This store sells only objets d'art
It is not known who created this piece
Piece
A period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition;
He was here for a little while
I need to rest for a piece
A spell of good weather
A patch of bad weather
Piece
A share of something;
A slice of the company's revenue
Piece
Game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games;
He taught me to set up the men on the chess board
He sacrificed a piece to get a strategic advantage
Piece
To join or unite the pieces of;
Patch the skirt
Piece
Make by putting pieces together;
She pieced a quilt
He tacked together some verses
Piece
Join during spinning;
Piece the broken pieces of thread, slivers, and rovings
Piece
Eat intermittently; take small bites of;
He pieced at the sandwich all morning
She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles
Piece
Repair by adding pieces;
She pieced the china cup
Common Curiosities
How does slicing differ from cutting into pieces?
Slicing is a specific type of cutting that produces thin, uniform sections, while cutting into pieces can result in various sizes and shapes.
What is a slice?
A slice is a thin, broad piece cut from something larger, usually with a sharp tool.
What is a piece?
A piece refers to any portion of something larger, which can vary greatly in shape and size.
Can you give an example of a slice?
A typical example of a slice is a piece of apple pie or a slice of bread.
What tools are used for slicing?
Knives, slicers, or any cutting implement capable of making thin, precise cuts.
Can you give an example of a piece?
Examples include a piece of chocolate, a piece of fabric, or a puzzle piece.
Is a piece always smaller than a slice?
Not necessarily; pieces can vary greatly in size and may sometimes be larger than a slice depending on context.
What are metaphorical uses of piece?
"A piece of my mind," "a piece of the action," or "a piece of cake" are common metaphorical expressions.
What are metaphorical uses of slice?
Phrases like "a slice of life" or "a slice of the profits" are metaphorical uses, implying a portion of something larger.
What is the significance of using slice in serving food?
It ensures uniform portion sizes and often enhances the presentation of the food.
Is a slice always related to food?
While commonly related to food, slice can also refer to parts of other wholes or shares in non-material entities.
Can the term piece be used in art and literature?
Yes, piece is commonly used to refer to works of art or literary compositions.
Can both terms be used interchangeably?
In some contexts they might overlap, but usually, they are used based on the shape, uniformity, and nature of the portion.
What does it mean to piece something together?
It involves assembling or combining parts to form a whole, often used in crafting or problem-solving.
How does context affect the use of slice vs. piece?
The context dictates precision in the case of slice and flexibility or general use in the case of piece.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
