sliver
Americannoun
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a small, slender, often sharp piece, as of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut off, usually lengthwise or with the grain; splinter.
-
any small, narrow piece or portion.
A sliver of sky was visible.
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a strand of loose, untwisted fibers produced in carding.
verb (used with object)
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to split or cut off (a sliver) or to split or cut into slivers.
to sliver a log into kindling.
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to form (textile fibers) into slivers.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a thin piece that is cut or broken off lengthwise; splinter
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a loose strand or fibre obtained by carding
verb
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to divide or be divided into splinters; split
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(tr) to form (wool, etc) into slivers
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sliver
1325–75; Middle English slivere (noun), derivative of sliven to split, Old English -slīfan (in tōslīfan to split up
Explanation
A very thin slice or bit of something is a sliver. A sliver of hope is better than a sliver of doubt, but having a sliver of wood in your foot is the worst. That’s called a splinter, and it hurts! You'll want to watch out for slivers of glass if you break a drinking glass in the sink, and machinists have to wear special protective goggles to guard against flying slivers of metal. If you just want a bite of dessert, you can ask for just a sliver of cheesecake. Sliver is also a verb, meaning "splinter," or "cut into thin pieces." It comes from a verb that's now obsolete, sliven, "to split."
Vocabulary lists containing sliver
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The Marrow Thieves
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The Birchbark House
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sliver it and air-fry it for a mozzarella stick-ish snack.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2022
Another thriller from the 1990s, "Sliver" starred Stone as Carly, who moves into a new apartment building with a peculiar group of tenants.
From Fox News • Mar. 10, 2020
The recovery came one day after Notre Dame police issued a statewide Sliver Alert for Jerry.
From Washington Times • Jan. 24, 2020
Smoke, Dance and a Sliver of Lebanon IN Brooklyn folklore, Bay Ridge remains the home of Tony Manero, the white-suited disco sensation played by John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.”
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2012
But the Misses Sliver kept near her, and seemed to be making themselves very agreeable.
From Be Courteous or, Religion, the True Refiner by Maxwell, Mrs. M. H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
