smithereens

[ smith-uh-reenz ]

See synonyms for: smithereen on Thesaurus.com

plural noun

small pieces; bits: broken into smithereens.

Origin of smithereens

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

Also smith·ers [smith-erz]. /ˈsmɪð ərz/.

Words Nearby smithereens

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smithereens in a sentence

Also, Mary is dead now and her grill has probably been blown to smithereens.
‘The Walking Dead’ Review: Carol Is the Hero of the Zombie Apocalypse | Melissa Leon | October 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Nevertheless, Grande manages to shoot her foes to smithereens.
Ariana Grande’s Gay-Friendly Intergalactic Dance Party | Amy Zimmerman | August 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
New York residents—and moviegoers in general—are conditioned to seeing the Big Apple blown to smithereens.
‘White House Down,’ ‘Olympus Has Fallen’: Washington Destroyed in Film | Kevin Fallon | July 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, the bomb explodes, blowing him and his pals to smithereens.
MacGruber's Big Score | Bryan Curtis | March 16, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
I think that embedded in these agreements are three ticking time bombs that could blow them to smithereens.
Russia's Ticking Time Bomb | The Daily Beast | July 8, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST

A model of a statue which he had just finished with a desperate effort was smashed to smithereens on its way to exhibition.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis Stevenson
I think the best use you can put a rattlesnake to is to blow him into smithereens, which is what I am going to do.
Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. Ellis
"I suppose it makes no difference if Edith is 'smashed to smithereens,' only the canoe," remarked Cynthia, demurely.
Harper's Round Table, August 20, 1895 | Various
One bunch come right for my guns, but we had loaded with grape an' we just blew 'em to smithereens.
The Believing Years | Edmund Lester Pearson
The lumpy problem was smashed, by that cry, into smithereens.
The Wolf Cub | Patrick Casey

British Dictionary definitions for smithereens

smithereens

/ (ˌsmɪðəˈriːnz) /

pl n

little shattered pieces or fragments

Origin of smithereens

C19: from Irish Gaelic smidirīn, from smiodar

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

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