sliver

[sliv-er]

noun

1. a small, slender, often sharp piece, as of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut off, usually lengthwise or with the grain; splinter.

2. any small, narrow piece or portion.

   A sliver of sky was visible.

3. a strand of loose, untwisted fibers produced in carding.

verb (used with object)

1. to split or cut off (a sliver) or to split or cut into slivers.

   to sliver a log into kindling.

2. to form (textile fibers) into slivers.

verb (used without object)

1. to split.

sliver

/ ˈslɪvə /

noun

1. a thin piece that is cut or broken off lengthwise; splinter

2. a loose strand or fibre obtained by carding

verb

1. to divide or be divided into splinters; split

2. (tr) to form (wool, etc) into slivers

Other Word Forms

• sliverlike adjective
• sliver-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sliver¹

1325–75; Middle English slivere (noun), derivative of sliven to split, Old English -slīfan (in tōslīfan to split up

Word History and Origins

Origin of sliver¹

C14: from sliven to split

Example Sentences

Published as “Calder Gardens: Drawings and Texts by Jacques Herzog,” they show how he began by thinking in terms of fragments, little slivers of space in which the sculpture would act as if on stage.

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Those tactics included secretly cornering slivers of the financial markets and “watering” stock—defrauding investors by issuing shares well above their book value.

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Robotics for pharmaceutical and lab applications, Dash’s sector, drew only a sliver of the venture funding.

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But those products still represent a sliver of the market.

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The Pylon founder instead conceded a sliver of conventional life and rented a four-bedroom apartment a block away.

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Related Words

• flake 
• fragment 
• shaving 
• shred 
• slice 
• snippet