splinter

American  

[splin-ter] / ˈsplɪn tər /

noun

1. a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.

   Synonyms:

   sliver

2. splinter group.

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verb (used with object)

1. to split or break into splinters.

2. to break off (something) in splinters.

3. to split or break (a larger group) into separate factions or independent groups.

4. Obsolete. to secure or support by a splint or splints, as a broken limb.

verb (used without object)

1. to be split or broken into splinters.

2. to break off in splinters.

   Synonyms:

   split, part, separate

splinter British  

/ ˈsplɪntə /

noun

1. a very small sharp piece of wood, glass, metal, etc, characteristically long and thin, broken off from a whole

2. a metal fragment, from the container of a shell, bomb, etc, thrown out during an explosion

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verb

1. to reduce or be reduced to sharp fragments; shatter

2. to break or be broken off in small sharp fragments

Other Word Forms

• splinterless adjective
• splintery adjective
• unsplintered adjective

Etymology

Origin of splinter

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; splint

Example Sentences

It was as decrepit as when Clare had arrived, but not a singed splinter more.

From Literature

And like all of television, reality is facing splintered and waning audiences so the decibel level of that conversation-sparking is often dialed way up.

From Los Angeles Times

Above us hammer blows and splintering wood showed where a squad of trained searchers was probing for the secret room.

From Literature

The lock was on the floor among splinters.

From Literature

Finally, he scraped the antlers and the long bones clean, and tied them into a bundle for splintering later into fishhooks, needles and arrowheads.

From Literature

Related Words

• disintegrate
• fracture
• rive
• shatter
• smash
• split