shatter
Americanverb (used with object)
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to break (something) into pieces, as by a blow.
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to damage, as by breaking or crushing.
ships shattered by storms.
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to impair or destroy (health, nerves, etc.).
The incident shattered his composure.
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to weaken, destroy, or refute (ideas, opinions, etc.).
He wanted to shatter her illusions.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to break or be broken into many small pieces
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(tr) to impair or destroy
his nerves were shattered by the torture
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(tr) to dumbfound or thoroughly upset
she was shattered by the news
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informal (tr) to cause to be tired out or exhausted
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an obsolete word for scatter
noun
Related Words
See break.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shatter
1300–50; Middle English schateren < ?; cf. scatter
Explanation
When you shatter something, you smash it or break it into small bits. If your sister hits a baseball directly into the kitchen window, the window will shatter — and your sister will be in big trouble. When you drop something fragile, it will probably shatter—lightbulbs, teacups, mirrors, and windows all shatter fairly easily. Things can also shatter in a less literal way, when it just feels like they're breaking apart violently. If your best friend ignores you all day, your heart shatters; and if you stumble and fall on your way up to a podium to give a speech, your confidence may shatter.
Vocabulary lists containing shatter
Lesson 11
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Towers Falling
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Blasted to Smithereens: Synonyms for "Break"
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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.
The hostilities “threatened to shatter the ‘no-war-no-peace’ situation,” that has existed since the end of the Tigray war, Oxford Analytica’s senior Africa analyst Matt Ward said in February.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
Maple-slicked Brussels sprouts with charred leaves that shatter under your fork.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
If the ice is too cold, it could shatter on impact.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
So AI knows how not to shatter a child’s imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
If enough neutrons boiled out of each shattered nucleus with just the right energy, the process might continue on its own until no more uranium nuclei remained to shatter.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
