smithereens

American  

[smith-uh-reenz] / ˌsmɪð əˈrinz /

Also smithers

plural noun

1. small pieces; bits.

   broken into smithereens.

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smithereens British  

/ ˌsmɪðəˈriːnz /

plural noun

1. little shattered pieces or fragments

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Etymology

Origin of smithereens

1820–30; dial. smithers (< ?) + Hiberno-English -een diminutive suffix (< Irish -ín )

Explanation

The noun smithereens is good for describing the tiny pieces of something, especially when it's been smashed into small bits. You're most likely to come across the word smithereens when someone's describing an explosion: "It was such an exciting movie — the spies kept blowing cars to smithereens!" You could also say that a neighborhood vandal smashed both your mailbox and your jack-'o-lantern to smithereens. The origin of the word is thought to be the Irish smidirín, or "fragment."

Example Sentences

I liked her, but I was unintentionally holding back, the echoes of my last relationship being blown to smithereens in my head.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026

At this point, Betelgeuse’s core will no longer be able to reap energy from further fusion reactions, leading the star to collapse under its own weight and blow itself to smithereens.

From Scientific American • May 15, 2023

And according to British tradition, witches could use the empty shells as boats, so kids enjoyed smashing them to smithereens.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2023

Feeling a little silly, she tentatively picked up a sledgehammer and smashed a red vase into smithereens.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

We could see it all, the huge glassjar smashed to smithereens with the dead mouse lying in the wreckage and hundreds of many-coloured Gobstoppers littering the floor.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl