smithereens
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of smithereens
1820–30; dial. smithers (< ?) + Hiberno-English -een diminutive suffix (< Irish -ín )
Explanation
The noun smithereens is good for describing the tiny pieces of something, especially when it's been smashed into small bits. You're most likely to come across the word smithereens when someone's describing an explosion: "It was such an exciting movie — the spies kept blowing cars to smithereens!" You could also say that a neighborhood vandal smashed both your mailbox and your jack-'o-lantern to smithereens. The origin of the word is thought to be the Irish smidirín, or "fragment."
Vocabulary lists containing smithereens
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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A Long Way from Chicago
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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.
Originally recorded back in 1993, "The Lost Album" delivers the goods in the form of a dozen honest-to-goodness, previously unheard original Smithereens recordings.
From Salon • Sep. 24, 2022
In 2019, the young actor took the lead in Roland Kennedy's short The Passenger, and a supporting role in the Black Mirror episode Smithereens, opposite Andrew Scott.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2021
Lyon, of Neptune, helped pioneer the Jersey shore sound with The Asbury Jukes, and pop rock band The Smithereens, with members from Carteret and Scotch Plains, was honored as well.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2019
What can you tell us about Black Mirror: Smithereens without giving the game away?
From The Guardian • Jun. 2, 2019
Pat DiNizio, lead singer of the Smithereens, died at 62.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2017
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.
