splinter

[splin-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR splinter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.

splinter group.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to be split or broken into splinters.

to break off in splinters.

Nearby words

Origin of splinter

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cf. splint

SYNONYMS FOR splinter

1. sliver. 8. separate, part, split.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR splinter ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssplin·ter·less, adjectivesplin·ter·y, adjectiveun·splin·tered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for splintery

My first exposure to the piece came from the splintery wood cabinet in the corner of the studio.
How to Write a Winning Ivy League Essay|Kathleen Kingsbury|October 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Usually odorless, not splintery, not resinous, with little contrast between early and late wood.
Studies of Trees|Jacob Joshua Levison
Some had splintery threads hanging around their cuts like used toothpicks.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse|Vicente Blasco Ibanez
The rocks are pale-coloured (yellowish or reddish as a rule), hard, splintery, much jointed and occasionally nodular.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2|Various

But on December 19th came another dreadful and splintery packing-case.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, April 23, 1919|Various
Halfway down the car is a semi-partition of carved oak columns, but the aisle is of bare, splintery, grease-blackened wood.
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for splintery

splintery

adjective

liable to produce or break into splinters

splinter

noun

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

Word Origin for splinter

C14: from Middle Dutch splinter; see splint

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

Word Origin and History for splintery

splinter

late 14c., from Middle Dutch splinter, splenter "a splinter," related to splinte (see splint). The adjective (as in splinter party) is first recorded 1935, from the noun.

splinter

1580s, from splinter (n.). Figurative sense from c.1600. Related: Splintered; splintering.

splinter

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of splinter

Examples from the Web for splintery

splintery

adjective

splinter

noun

verb

Word Origin for splinter

splinter

splinter