splinter
Americannoun
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a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.
- Synonyms:
- sliver
verb (used with object)
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to split or break into splinters.
-
to break off (something) in splinters.
-
to split or break (a larger group) into separate factions or independent groups.
-
Obsolete. to secure or support by a splint or splints, as a broken limb.
noun
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a very small sharp piece of wood, glass, metal, etc, characteristically long and thin, broken off from a whole
-
a metal fragment, from the container of a shell, bomb, etc, thrown out during an explosion
verb
-
to reduce or be reduced to sharp fragments; shatter
-
to break or be broken off in small sharp fragments
Other Word Forms
- splinterless adjective
- splintery adjective
- unsplintered adjective
Etymology
Origin of splinter
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; splint
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.
But regional cooperation doesn’t need to splinter the world entirely.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
From hosting streaming events at the Three Sisters pub in the capital, a splinter group has formed and they now attend ice hockey games together.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
She trained in classical arts—voice and dance—and common notions of beauty are present in her music, yet she seems equally determined to splinter her tracks into pieces via technology.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
That has caused the AI trade to splinter into two camps.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 28, 2025
Everything made to ache and splinter and seek and throb by the loss of our parents, our homes, our words, our Elder and our RiRi, our safety.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
