a piece of cake
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Also seen as: piece of cake
Meaning · English
Something very easy to do.
Literally: A slice of cake.
How to use it
✓ Use it when
Describing tasks that turned out to be effortless.
Register: informalConnotation: lightEra: 20th century – present
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The exam was a piece of cake — I finished in twenty minutes.
Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “a piece of cake” mean?
Something very easy to do. Literally: A slice of cake.
Is “a piece of cake” formal or informal?
a piece of cake is generally informal; connotation: light.