smithereens

[ smith-uh-reenz ]

/ ˌsmɪð əˈrinz /

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plural noun

small pieces; bits: broken into smithereens.

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Also smith·ers

[smith-erz]. /ˈsmɪð ərz/.

Origin of smithereens

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

Words nearby smithereens

smitch, smite, smith, Smith, Adam, Smith, Captain John, smithereens, smithery, Smithfield, Smithfield ham, Smith Island, Smith, Joseph

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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|DAILY BEAST
Nevertheless, Grande manages to shoot her foes to smithereens.
Ariana Grande’s Gay-Friendly Intergalactic Dance Party|Amy Zimmerman|August 13, 2014|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|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, the bomb explodes, blowing him and his pals to smithereens.
MacGruber's Big Score|Bryan Curtis|March 16, 2010|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|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

Word Origin for 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

smithereens

Origin of smithereens

Words nearby smithereens

Words related to smithereens

How to use smithereens in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smithereens

Word Origin for smithereens