piece of pie

Meanings

1. 1phrasecountable

   A serving or slice of a sweet baked food with a pastry base and a fruit or other filling.

   Grammar: Countable through 'piece': a piece of pie, two pieces of pie. You can also say 'a slice of pie'.

   Patterns

   • a piece of pie
   • a piece of apple pie
   • eat a piece of pie

   Would you like a piece of pie with your coffee?

   He ate a piece of pie after dinner and then went to bed.

   There is one piece of pie left in the dish.

2. 2phraseidiomfigurative

   Used in the fixed expression 'a piece of the pie', meaning a share of money, profit, or opportunity.

   Grammar: Often used with 'get', 'want', or 'deserve': get a piece of the pie.

   Patterns

   • a piece of the pie
   • get a piece of the pie
   • want a piece of the pie

   Small businesses want a piece of the pie too.

   After the deal, everyone expected to get a piece of the pie.

   The company is fighting for a bigger piece of the pie in the Asian market.

Common combinations

a piece of apple pie

For dessert we had a piece of apple pie with ice cream.

a piece of pumpkin pie

At Thanksgiving, everyone gets a piece of pumpkin pie.

a piece of the pie

The new tax law gives workers a bigger piece of the pie.

cut a piece of pie

She cut a piece of pie for each guest.

Synonyms and how they differ

slice of pie

The most common alternative; 'slice' emphasizes the shape and is very natural in restaurants.

piece of cake

A different food phrase; as an idiom it means something very easy, so do not confuse the two.

Word family

pie noun

The whole baked dish, without referring to a serving.

Commonly confused: piece of pie or piece of cake? piece of pie or peice?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “piece of pie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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