apiece

A1P3I1E1C3E1
UK/əˈpiːs/US/əˈpis/

adverb

Following a noun or noun phrase: by, for, or to each one; each by itself.

“down the road apiece”

Similar
allindividuallysinglypiecemealpiecewiseeachto each onefor each one
OriginMiddle English a pece ← Anglo-Norman pece ← Middle French piece →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

adverbapiece (not comparable)
  1. not comparableFollowing a noun or noun phrase: by, for, or to each one; each by itself.

    These melons cost a dollar apiece.

    5 more examples

    Near-synonyms: all, individually, singly; piecemeal, piecewise

    There were ſtondynge ſixe water pottes of ſtone after the maner of the purifyinge of the iewes⸝ contaynynge two or thre fyrkyns a pece.

    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Jhon ij:[6], folio cxxj, verso

    Take nothing for your iourney, neither ſtaues, nor ſcrip, neither bread, neither money, neither haue two coates apeece.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 9:3, signature G2, verso

    […] Kings at a moderate reckoning Reign but 18 or 20 years a-piece one vvith another: […]

    a. 1728 (date written), Isaac Newton, “A Short Chronicle from the First Memory of Things in Europe, to the Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great”, in The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], and J[ohn] Osborn and T[homas] Longman […], published 1728, →OCLC, page 7

    The engines were built in the Doncaster works at what I believe to have been the low cost, even for those days, of £2,500 apiece, […]

    1943 January–February, Cha[rle]s S. Lake, “Some C[hief] M[echanical] E[ngineer]s I Have Known: IV—H[enry] A[lfred] Ivatt”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 30

    Synonyms: all, individually, singly, piecemeal, piecewise

  2. New Englandespeciallynot comparableFor an undetermined distance.

    down the road apiece

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbFollowing a noun or noun phrase: by, for, or to each one; each by itself.

Similar
allindividuallysinglypiecemealpiecewise

More synonyms by meaning

adverbto or from every one of two or more (considered individually)

Similar
eachto each onefor each onefrom each one
Also see
eachpiecewise

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Celtic*kʷezdis“piece, portion; quota”
  2. Gaulish*pettyā
  3. Late Latin*pettia
  4. Old Frenchpece
  5. Middle Frenchpiece
  6. Anglo-Normanpece
  7. Middle Englisha pece
  8. Englishapiece

Univerbation of a + piece (noun), from Late Middle English a pece. Pece is derived from Anglo-Norman pece, peece, peice, Middle French piece, and Old French pece, pice, piece (“part of a whole”) (modern French pièce); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Late Latin *pettia, *pettium (compare pecia, pecium, petia, petium (“broken piece, fragment; piece of land”)), or from their possible etymon Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion; quota”).

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian поединично, на парче
  • поединично (poedinično)by, for, or to each one
  • на парче (na parče)by, for, or to each one
Catalan respectivament, cadascú
  • respectivamentby, for, or to each one
  • cadascúby, for, or to each one
  • cadascunaby, for, or to each one
Dutch per stuk
  • per stukby, for, or to each one
Esperanto po
  • poby, for, or to each one
Finnish kappale, kappaleelta
  • kappaleby, for, or to each one
  • kappaleeltaby, for, or to each one
  • jonkin matkaafor an undetermined distance
French chacun, chacune
  • chacunby, for, or to each one
  • chacuneby, for, or to each one
German jedes einzelne, je Stück
  • jedes einzelneby, for, or to each one
  • je Stückby, for, or to each one
  • pro Stückby, for, or to each one
Hungarian darabonként
  • darabonkéntby, for, or to each one
Italian ciascuno, ciascuna
  • ciascunoby, for, or to each one
  • ciascunaby, for, or to each one
  • cadaunoby, for, or to each one
  • cadaunaby, for, or to each one
  • cad.by, for, or to each one
Portuguese cada um, cada uma
  • cada umby, for, or to each one
  • cada umaby, for, or to each one
Spanish cada uno
  • cada unoby, for, or to each one
Turkish birer
  • birerby, for, or to each one

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with apiece

releaseincreasenicepeaceGreeceleasedecreasefleececeaseMauricegreasereeseobeseysniececapricecreaseRhysfilsmetisanisecerisemeesedecease
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

apiece. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apiece

MLA

“apiece.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apiece. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apiece,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apiece.

Source: apiece on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.