sliver

[sliv-er]

noun

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

/ 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

• sliverlike adjective
• sliver-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sliver¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sliver¹

C14: from sliven to split

Example Sentences

Her golden eyes catch a stray sliver of moonlight, turning them silvery yellow.

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It was a sliver of hope, mind you, thin as the thinnest crescent moon, but sometimes a sliver is all a person needs.

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“This way,” Alexander said, and disappeared into a sliver of shadow that somehow seemed darker than the rest.

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But if this little sliver of young fame has taught Isella anything, it’s that even when everyone wants a piece of you, no one is actually coming to save any of us.

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He knew that, in order to protect his surviving daughter from the radiation the plant might release, he had to abandon the faint sliver of hope that one of those swept away could have survived.

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Related Words

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