splinter
Americannoun
-
splinters
plural
-
a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.
- Synonyms:
- sliver
verb (used with object)
-
splinters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
splintered,
past participle, past
-
splintering
present participle
-
to split or break into splinters.
-
to break off (something) in splinters.
-
to split or break (a larger group) into separate factions or independent groups.
-
Obsolete. to secure or support by a splint or splints, as a broken limb.
noun
-
a very small sharp piece of wood, glass, metal, etc, characteristically long and thin, broken off from a whole
-
a metal fragment, from the container of a shell, bomb, etc, thrown out during an explosion
verb
-
to reduce or be reduced to sharp fragments; shatter
-
to break or be broken off in small sharp fragments
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
splintersimple
-
splinterssimple
-
have splinteredperfect
-
has splinteredperfect
-
am splinteringprogressive
-
are splinteringprogressive
-
is splinteringprogressive
-
have been splinteringperfect progressive
-
has been splinteringperfect progressive
Past
-
splinteredsimple
-
had splinteredperfect
-
was splinteringprogressive
-
were splinteringprogressive
-
had been splinteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splinter
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cf. splint
Explanation
A splinter is a narrow, pointed sliver that breaks off something larger. If you walk barefoot on a wooden floor, dock, or boardwalk, you might get a splinter of wood in your foot. Ouch! We often use the word splinter to refer to tiny shards of wood that lodge under the skin, but a sliver of any hard material — stone, glass, bone, wood, metal — can be called a splinter. When something splinters, it breaks into individual bits. You can also use the word figuratively to describe something that separates in a violent or forceful way, like when a mainstream political party splinters into more or less extreme groups.
Vocabulary lists containing splinter
Unit 1: Telling Details
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Mother to Son"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Mississippi Solo" by Eddy Harris
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The bloc of governors would have to splinter before a majority of Fed voters in favor of a hike could carry the day.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
President Bola Tinubu said the attackers were militants from Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter group known to operate in central Nigeria, extending into the southwest.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Recently six countries representing most of the bloc’s economy and population formed a splinter group to drive the idea forward, and their leaders are trying to persuade others to join.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
It no longer controls the huge swathes of territory it once did, but it, and other splinter groups, remains active and dangerous.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
She quietly lowered herself to the middle step and pretended to pick a splinter from the bottom of her foot.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
I also wanted to understand if my treatment, which forced me to excavate painful childhood memories lodged beneath the surface, like splinters the skin had long healed over, could help others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Navigating around the crater, Al-Ahmad trudged into the blown-out remains of the hall, his feet crunching on an underbrush of glass, wood splinters and insulation.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
But she plays the more shadowed of the siblings without any of the flat spikes and splinters of pure evil that inform most of the hostile beings in this universe.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2024
Vincent and his wife Cassie are sent frantic with worry after the disappearance of their son, which splinters their unhappy marriage as Vincent spirals downwards.
From BBC ● May 26, 2024
It had stained-glass windows, white walls, and roughly hewn wood benches that could give you splinters if you wiggled too much, and hurt your bottom if you sat too long.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
When he climbed the heap of slurry, he saw splintered furniture and ruined papers, but one thing remained intact.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026
And like all of television, reality is facing splintered and waning audiences so the decibel level of that conversation-sparking is often dialed way up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026
Despite a concluding chapter that struggles to make these storylines converge, “Now I Surrender” remains frustratingly splintered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Instead, after the region won independence from Spain in the early 19th century, it splintered into almost three dozen states of varying commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
Twisted and leaning pillars reared their splintered stems above the flood, but all the roads were drowned.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Vannacci, a former paratrooper, launched FN earlier this year after splintering from Matteo Salvini's League party.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Now this very coalition is splintering as his support spirals downward.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026
The estate of Wuthering Heights is foreboding and dark, with rocks splintering through the walls, while Linton’s Thrushcross Grange bears a Victorian aesthetic, containing the outside world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Individual investors kicked off 2026 by taking a page from the playbook of global central banks and stockpiling gold as a hedge against a splintering world order.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026
Jason took a last look at the splintering ship.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
