piecework

[ pees-wurk ]

/ ˈpisˌwɜrk /

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noun

work done and paid for by the piece.

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Compare timework.

Origin of piecework

First recorded in 1540–50; piece + work

OTHER WORDS FROM piecework

pieceworker, noun

Words nearby piecework

piecer, piece rate, pieces, piece together, piecewise, piecework, pie chart, piecrust, piecrust table, pied, pied-à-terre

How to use piecework in a sentence

Their work belongs to a grim history of women in outsourced roles stretching back to the piecework manufacturing era.
“We’re Not Allowed to Hang Up”: The Harsh Reality of Working in Customer Service|by Ariana Tobin, Ken Armstrong and Justin Elliott, illustrations by Laila Milevski|July 21, 2021|ProPublica
The trend toward poorly compensated contract work—gig work, piecework, temporary work—is virtually ubiquitous.
Art has been brutalized by tech’s giants. How can it survive?|Konstantin Kakaes|December 23, 2020|MIT Technology Review
This sort of peer-to-peer piecework could help bridge the gap between peak earnings years and full retirement.
How Will AirBnB Change the World?|Megan McArdle|January 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In order to attain this improved efficiency the most important practical aid is piecework.
Speculations from Political Economy|C. B. Clarke

Piecework rates, irrespective of class of labour employed, should remain unaltered.
Women in Modern Industry|B. L. Hutchins
But while Marx thus objects to piecework because it leads to overwork, he objects to it also because it leads to underwork.
Contemporary Socialism|John Rae
Among these expedients none is more strongly condemned by Marx than piecework, as encouraging over-exertion and overtime.
Contemporary Socialism|John Rae
Dissipation and overtime generally go together, but neither of them is a necessary accompaniment of piecework.
Contemporary Socialism|John Rae

British Dictionary definitions for piecework

piecework

/ (ˈpiːsˌwɜːk) /

noun

work paid for according to the quantity producedCompare timework

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012