splinter

[ splin-ter ]
See synonyms for: splintersplinteredsplinteringsplintery on Thesaurus.com

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

verb (used with object)
  1. to split or break into splinters.

  2. to break off (something) in splinters.

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

  2. 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.

Origin of splinter

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cf. splint

Other words for splinter

Other words from splinter

  • splin·ter·less, adjective
  • splin·ter·y, adjective
  • un·splin·tered, adjective

Words Nearby splinter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use splinter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for splinter

splinter

/ (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

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

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

Origin of splinter

1
C14: from Middle Dutch splinter; see splint

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