What is piece together? How to use in English

Discover the meaning of piece together in English, its pronunciation, and how to use it correctly in real-life situations. See examples and easy memorization tips.

Definition & pronunciation of piece together

piece togetherphrasal verb

ghép lại với nhau

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Where does the word piece together come from?

The English language is rich with phrases and idioms that have fascinating origins. One such phrase is "piece together." This expression, meaning to reconstruct or form an understanding by connecting separate parts, can be traced back to the mid-16th century. During this time, there was a thriving industry centered around the production and sale of wooden puzzle boxes known as "dissected maps," with intricate designs created by a celebrity cartographer named Henry Briggs. These maps, made up of small interlocking pieces, challenged the recipient to "piece together" the geographic location being depicted. It is thought that the expression "piece together" emerged as a direct result of this popular pastime. As more complex designs were created, the term came to represent the process of reassembling things back to their original configuration. Over time, this meaning evolved, extending beyond maps to refer to the act of gathering and reconciling disparate elements to reconstruct a bigger picture in many different fields, from medical diagnosis to detective work to assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Today, "piece together" is a universally known and widely used phrase, an excellent example of how language is shaped by popular culture and everyday experience.

Example of vocabulary piece togethernamespace

meaning

to understand a story, situation, etc. by taking all the facts and details about it and putting them together

  • Police are trying to piece together the last hours of her life.
  • The account of their journey has been pieced together from personal letters and diaries.
meaning

to put all the separate parts of something together to make a complete whole

  • to piece together a jigsaw
  • She tried to piece together the cheque which he had just torn up.

Synonyms and related words for piece together


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