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.

---

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

---

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

Private-equity firms can have a sliver of a team, but are not to have a controlling voice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

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

A sliver of unease shot through me as my thoughts turned back to Rachel saying the text had been meant for her.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Mr Mohammed says that his father and grandfather had dug through these plots for decades but discovered nothing more that "dust and slivers of quartz".

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025

Those tactics included secretly cornering slivers of the financial markets and “watering” stock—defrauding investors by issuing shares well above their book value.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025

The other was freshly tossed in a kerosene-fueled wok, yielding glossy, chewy noodles bursting with soy sauce, blackened slivers of onion, and, most importantly, that elusive, umami-filled char called wok hei.

From Salon ● May 15, 2024

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

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

I sat there a moment before the memory of the shrill siren of the Recruiter’s whistle shoved under my feet like slivers.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Related Words

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