splitter

American  

[split-er] / ˈsplɪt ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that splits.

2. Biology Informal. a taxonomist who believes that classifications should emphasize differences between organisms and therefore favors a multiplicity of taxa (opposed to lumper).

---

Etymology

Origin of splitter

First recorded in 1615–25; split + -er ¹

Example Sentences

He possesses just enough pitches — a fastball and a splitter — to last two innings, tops.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Although he saved his home and work studio, he said he lost a power washer, an emergency backup generator, a water tank and a log splitter gifted by his father, who died in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

On the late-March phone call, the spouses brainstormed what they might sell, People reported, including some of their trailers, their ATV, a pressure washer and a wood splitter.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

Plus, a judge halts construction of Trump’s White House ballroom, and the splitter is driving MLB batters crazy again.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

He was not a splitter, but a lumper, a seeker of deeper anatomy.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee