A piece of the pie is a share of money, a market or a budget that several players are dividing: Small publishers want a piece of the pie as audiobook sales grow. A bigger share is a bigger slice of the pie. It sounds like a piece of cake, but that one means very easy.
When would you say a piece of the pie?
Write a sentence — we'll check that the expression fits the situation and suggest what to fix.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
get / want / claim a piece of the pie; a larger slice of the pie
- Small publishers want a piece of the pie as audiobook sales grow.
- Every department argued for a larger slice of the pie.
- The new studio hoped to win a piece of the pie in the animation market.
What changed
First versionLocal firms want a piece of pie in this growing market.
RevisionLocal firms want a piece of the pie in this growing market.
A piece of pie is what you'd order in a café, so the seems unnecessary. But without it, it's just a slice on a plate. The pie is the shared pie that everyone is dividing, so the goes back in.
A piece of cake means very easy: The test was a piece of cake. The lion's share is the biggest part. A piece of the pie can be a modest share; what matters is being part of the split.
Your turn
Use the idiom meaning a share of available benefits: Everyone wants a piece ___ the pie.
Show the answer
of — A part links to the whole with of: a piece of the pie. From doesn't work here.
Describe a market or shared budget that several players are competing for. Use a piece of the pie.
Independent cafés want a piece of the pie as more visitors come to the neighbourhood.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.