sliver

American  

[sliv-er] / ˈslɪv ər /

noun

• slivers
  plural

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.

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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 British  

/ ˈslɪvə /

noun

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

2. a loose strand or fibre obtained by carding

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verb

1. to divide or be divided into splinters; split

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sliver-like
  adjective
• sliverlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• slivers
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sliver slivers

She said that cloud cover scuppered the view for most of the time, but about 19:00 the clouds parted and a sliver of the sun was visible from behind the moon.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

An announcement from Pakistan's defence minister that the two were "close to some sort of arrangement" provided a sliver of hope Tuesday, though that later faded.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

It’s a little sliver of Nepal in the San Juan Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

In his enthusiasm, he may have glimpsed a sliver of truth long before the rest of us knew how to look for it.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Anyone careless enough to let a sliver of light show through was only warned once,” said Alfons Heck.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

I was skeptical when I first came across a recipe for dates generously filled with slivers of butter, finished off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

It also sees its role of defending Thailand's territorial claims as a sacred one, even though this conflict is about tiny slivers of mostly unpopulated land.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

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.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2025

It’s about 6 inches wide and shot through with slivers of chocolate that vary in size.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

I walk down the stairs, drawing my hand lightly along a railing to avoid slivers, and walk out to the end of the pier.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Related Words

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