sliver

[ sliv-er ]

/ ˈslɪv ər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: sliver / slivered / slivering on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small, slender, often sharp piece, as of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut off, usually lengthwise or with the grain; splinter.

any small, narrow piece or portion: A sliver of sky was visible.

a strand of loose, untwisted fibers produced in carding.

verb (used with object)

to split or cut off (a sliver) or to split or cut into slivers: to sliver a log into kindling.

to form (textile fibers) into slivers.

verb (used without object)

to split.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "EVOKE" VS. "INVOKE"!

Call upon your favorite grammar inspirations to tackle this quiz on the differences and uses of "evoke" and "invoke."

Question 1 of 7

“Evoke” and “invoke” both derive from the same Latin root “vocāre.”

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar Coach

Improve Your Writing

Origin of sliver

1325–75; Middle English slivere (noun), derivative of sliven to split, Old English -slīfan (in tōslīfan to split up

OTHER WORDS FROM sliver

sliv·er·like, adjective

Words nearby sliver

slithery, slitlamp, slit pocket, slit trench, Sliven, sliver, sliver building, slivovitz, SLMA, SLO, Sloan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use sliver in a sentence

The projects Metro is targeting this time around are a sliver of a nearly $23 billion budget for capital projects that stretches 10 years.
Metro seeks bond sales to raise $360 million for capital projects|Justin George|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
There’s only been like a sliver, like two, maybe, that have taken any money from Amazon to spend in the retail media space.
Walmart’s DSP will help it compete for advertisers, but won’t rob ad dollars from Amazon|Kate Kaye|February 4, 2021|Digiday
Experts believe the federal tally of nearly 500 variant cases across 32 states — including the strains first found in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil — is a sliver of the real picture.
U.S. response to coronavirus variants emphasizes masks and vaccines instead of lockdowns|Fenit Nirappil, Brittany Shammas|February 2, 2021|Washington Post
“So we are excited to have a sliver of live performance and try to provide that source of inspiration that will help remind people that we are all here, we’re all Americans, we are all working to get through this,” he said.
The Marine Band has played at every inauguration since Jefferson. It’s one tradition that will carry on this year.|Michael Ruane|January 19, 2021|Washington Post

Get rid of soap slivers, nearly empty bottles and dried up nail polish.
Hints From Heloise: Family needs to get on board to keep bathroom ship shape|Heloise Heloise|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
There was some small sliver of hope that Democrats could regain some lost ground in 2016 with Hillary Clinton on the ballot.
Southern Dems Won’t Rise Again|Ben Jacobs|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The governor with at least a tiny sliver of a heart is gone.
Arkansas’s Blue Collar Social Conservatives Don’t Know What’s Coming|Monica Potts|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And if he can stabilize this sliver of the country, it could prevent another devastating war.
A Belgian Prince, Gorillas, Guerrillas & the Future of the Congo|Nina Strochlic|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Leaving the OR that night, I looked up the clear sky, at the flocks of white seagulls and a sliver of crescent moon.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Despite name ID and fluent Spanish (there was a sizable Hispanic population in the area), he lost by a sliver.
George Takei Sets Phasers to Reform|Tim Mak|July 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I took a look around, trying to find a sliver of light that would reveal the part of the building in which the men were hiding.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
There was Old Slade, from over on the bluff opposite, slyly cutting a sliver of salt fish from one in the bale upon which he sat.
The Rival Campers Afloat|Ruel Perley Smith
I have heard noises something like them in sawmills when the circular saw happened to strike a sliver.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
Once it raised its head and a sliver of flesh shook from its teeth before the face dropped again to devour.
The Jewels of Aptor|Samuel R. Delany
In his hand he had a stone knife—you know, a thin, sharp sliver of some obsidian-like stuff same as they make arrow-heads out of.
The Red One|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for sliver

sliver

/ (ˈslɪvə) /

noun

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

a loose strand or fibre obtained by carding

verb

to divide or be divided into splinters; split

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

Derived forms of sliver

sliver-like, adjective

Word Origin for sliver

C14: from sliven to split

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sliver

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "EVOKE" VS. "INVOKE"!

Meet Grammar Coach

Meet Grammar Coach

Origin of sliver

OTHER WORDS FROM sliver

Words nearby sliver

Words related to sliver

How to use sliver in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sliver

noun

verb

Derived forms of sliver

Word Origin for sliver