period piece

American

noun

something, as a novel, painting, or building, of interest or value primarily because it evokes or epitomizes a particular period of history.

period piece British

noun

an object, a piece of music, a play, etc, valued for its quality of evoking a particular historical period: often one regarded as of little except historical interest

"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

Etymology

Origin of period piece

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It was a period piece about the beauty of art, and this just wasn’t the time,” she explained.

From Los Angeles Times

“Even though it’s a period piece, it’s so contemporary,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

“Sinners” prioritizes the moment in time in which the fright occurs — both visually and sonically — making it as much a period piece as it is a movie with vampires in it.

From Los Angeles Times

“Sinners” is a supernatural horror movie, an action movie, a period piece and a partial musical.

From Salon

“I got a lot of period piece offers, but I did not want to do any more period pieces after ‘Game of Thrones,’ mainly because of the temperature,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023