splintered; splintering
ˈsplin-tə-riŋ 
-triŋ
2
: to split into fragments, parts, or factions
: to become splintered
Synonyms
Examples of splinter in a Sentence
Noun
I got a splinter in my finger.
There were splinters of glass everywhere.
Verb
The board splintered under his weight.
The impact of the crash splintered the glass.
groups that have splintered off to form new political movements
a political party that has been splintered by disagreements
Recent Examples on the Web
Stack Commerce, Popular Science, 17 Oct. 2024
Most restaurants and grocery stores in Sarasota were shuttered, a few wrecked cars and trucks were strewn about like toys, some traffic lights were working while others were completely gone, and dozens of palm trees were snapped like twigs or reduced to splinters.
—NBC News, 12 Oct. 2024
Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
—Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for splinter 
Noun
Or, did your friend get a little too curious in the brush and get a splinter or stung by a bee or wasp?
—Stack Commerce, Popular Science, 17 Oct. 2024
Most restaurants and grocery stores in Sarasota were shuttered, a few wrecked cars and trucks were strewn about like toys, some traffic lights were working while others were completely gone, and dozens of palm trees were snapped like twigs or reduced to splinters.
—NBC News, 12 Oct. 2024
Verb
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140 mph and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and churning up tornadoes.
—Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
—Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for splinter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'splinter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near splinter
Cite this Entry
“Splinter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/splinter. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
splinter
1 of 2 noun
splin·ter
ˈsplint-ər
: a thin piece split or torn off lengthwise : sliver
splinter
adjective
splinter
2 of 2 verb
splintered; splintering
ˈsplint-ə-riŋ
ˈsplin-triŋ
: to divide or break into splinters
Medical Definition
splinter
noun
splin·ter
ˈsplint-ər
: a thin piece (as of wood) split or broken off lengthwise
especially
: such a piece embedded in the skin
used tweezers to remove a splinter
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