piece of goods

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A person, especially one with undesirable flaws or other notable characteristics.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Một người, đặc biệt là người có khuyết điểm không mong muốn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

'Well, upon my word,' exclaimed the father, taking the pipe from his mouth, and staring aghast at his daughter in a stupor of indignant surprise, 'you're a pretty article; you're a nice piece of goods for a man to bring up and waste his substance upon […]

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “piece of goods” mean?

A person, especially one with undesirable flaws or other notable characteristics.

Is “piece of goods” formal or informal?

piece of goods is generally slang.