set piece

[set pees]

noun

1. Theater.,  a piece of scenery used as part of a stage set, as a profile or three-dimensional construction built to stand independently on the stage floor.

   A few set pieces simulating rocks and a fence constituted the scenery for the first act.

2. a work of art, literature, music, etc., having a prescribed thematic and formal structure.

   the set pieces of Restoration comedy.

3. a scene, action, or the like, having a conventional form and functioning as part of the structure of a work of art, literature, etc.

4. a military operation carried out according to a rigid plan.

5. Also called set play. Sports.,  a coordinated maneuver with team players in a preplanned formation when the ball re-enters active play, as a corner kick in soccer.

   The team’s dedicated practice time for set pieces paid off in their penalty kick results this year.

6. (in a novel, narrative poem, or the like) a passage more or less extraneous to the sequence of events, introduced to supply background, color, or the like.

7. an arrangement of slow-burning fireworks forming a design or composition when lighted.

set piece

noun

1. a work of literature, music, etc, often having a conventional or prescribed theme, intended to create an impressive effect

2. a piece of scenery built to stand independently as part of a stage set

3. a display of fireworks

4. sport a rehearsed team manoeuvre, usually attempted in continuous games at a restart of play, esp when the other side has been penalized for improper play

Word History and Origins

Origin of set piece¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

While most teams have historically treated these set pieces as afterthoughts, Arsenal has turned them into a hack—and then turned that hack into its whole identity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The lack of organisation is reflected in the statistic that Liverpool have conceded five goals resulting from set pieces in eight Premier League games this season.

Read more on BBC

The nearly century-old theater is stuffed to the rafters, quite literally, with set pieces, which hang from ropes and pulleys attached to the fly loft above the stage and wings.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The production is excellent, with well-executed set pieces — the plane crash, a tug-of-war between a helicopter and a giant bus, a fight on a train, a fight on a dam.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The movie’s stiff Spider Woman set pieces are a relic of the ’90s musical that put Chita Rivera in a massive web.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• scenery 
• tableau