splint
Americannoun
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splints
plural
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a thin piece of wood or other rigid material used to immobilize a fractured or dislocated bone, or to maintain any part of the body in a fixed position.
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one of a number of thin strips of wood woven together to make a chair seat, basket, etc.
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Veterinary Medicine. an exostosis or bony enlargement of a splint bone of a horse or a related animal.
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Armor.
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any of a number of narrow plates or lames joined with rivets or a backing to form a piece of armor.
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a partial vambrace protecting only the outer part of the arm.
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British Dialect. a splinter of wood or stone.
verb (used with object)
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splints,
present (3rd person singular)
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splinted,
past participle, past
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splinting
present participle
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to secure, hold in position, or support by means of a splint or splints, as a fractured bone.
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to support as if with splints.
noun
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a rigid support for restricting movement of an injured part, esp a broken bone
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a thin sliver of wood, esp one that is used to light cigars, a fire, etc
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a thin strip of wood woven with others to form a chair seat, basket, etc
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vet science inflammation of the small metatarsal or metacarpal bones along the side of the cannon bone of a horse
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one of the overlapping metal plates used in armour after about 1330
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another word for splinter
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
splintsimple
-
splintssimple
-
have splintedperfect
-
has splintedperfect
-
am splintingprogressive
-
are splintingprogressive
-
is splintingprogressive
-
have been splintingperfect progressive
-
has been splintingperfect progressive
Past
-
splintedsimple
-
had splintedperfect
-
was splintingprogressive
-
were splintingprogressive
-
had been splintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splint
1275–1325; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German splinte; cf. splinter
Explanation
A splint is something that's used to keep a person's arm or leg straight and immobile while a broken bone is healing. If you break your wrist, you may need to wear a splint for a while. Some splints are temporary, meant to keep an injured person's bones from moving until they can be examined by a doctor. EMTs and other emergency workers often use splints while transporting someone to a hospital. You can also use this word as a verb: "Let's splint your dog's leg and get her to the vet." A strip of wood can also be called a splint.
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She has to wear a pressure garment for 23 hours a day and sleeps in a splint.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
"I've never experienced such terrible pain in my life. I made a splint and crutches out of wood," he writes.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“Falling off a cliff, having to splint her leg. You don’t splint your leg unless your leg is broken and if your leg is broken, you’re not walking miles on it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025
An X-ray found no fractures or vascular injuries in her hand, which was put in a finger splint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Quickly and gently Taran finished making a splint and winding the strips about it, then brought herbs from Lluagor’s saddlebag.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Milwaukee Brewers: Huntington Beach Marina High product Jake Bauers has suffered from shin splints almost all season, and the pain has kept him from playing the outfield lately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The most recent work, Berenice Olmedo’s “Amalia,” a motorized sculpture of a leg made from medical prostheses, splints and braces, was created in 2021, a comment on difficulties faced by the disabled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
The centre was set up around 60 years ago by a Belgian Catholic association and has a workshop for producing prostheses, splints and braces.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Eight-year-old Ronnie, from Saffron Walden in Essex, has cerebral palsy and loved watching the England international so much he had an image of him put on his leg splints.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2023
Lourdes massages her eyes and begins walking with legs that feel held by splints.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
“They were able to put his finger back together and it’s splinted and he’s day-to-day,” Redick said Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
What he did recall was having his arm splinted in a comfortable position and making plans to have surgery the next day at a hospital in the Chicagoland area unaffiliated with Froedtert South.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2022
Her legs were never given tourniquets or splinted.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2022
Urshela’s bat splinted when he grounded into a double play in the second inning.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2021
I pulled a busted one from the trash and splinted the broken spoke with a rolled magazine and a plastic bag ripped into strips.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
It was a very interesting nine-month tour of duty in military service, tactical training, and of course the medical aspect of evaluating injuries, administering morphine, splinting and stopping bleeding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
Cross-examining Dr Evans, Mr Myers said: "If you really thought that splinting the diaphragm was a cause of death you would have stated that before today, wouldn't you?"
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2022
When the records arrived, they showed the splinting that Shah remembered but not the treatment that was driving up his bill.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2022
A trauma nurse and a medical doctor were among the group of hikers and Justa said they helped tremendously with splinting, wrapping injuries and taking her vitals, for which he’s grateful.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 24, 2016
He mentions that one stranger had a broken leg and that he had done the neighborly thing by splinting it before sending the men on their way.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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