splinter
verb/ˈsplɪntə(r)/
/ˈsplɪntər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they splinter | /ˈsplɪntə(r)/ /ˈsplɪntər/ |
| he / she / it splinters | /ˈsplɪntəz/ /ˈsplɪntərz/ |
| past simple splintered | /ˈsplɪntəd/ /ˈsplɪntərd/ |
| past participle splintered | /ˈsplɪntəd/ /ˈsplɪntərd/ |
| -ing form splintering | /ˈsplɪntərɪŋ/ /ˈsplɪntərɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] (of wood, glass, stone, etc.) to break, or to make something break, into small, thin, sharp pieces synonym shatter
- The mirror cracked but did not splinter.
- The vase splintered into a thousand pieces.
- splinter something The impact splintered the wood.
- She could hear the talons shredding and splintering the wood.
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- [intransitive] (of a group of people) to divide into smaller groups that are no longer connected; to separate from a larger group
- The party began to splinter.
- splinter (off) (from something) Several firms have splintered off from the original company.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Middle Dutch splinter, splenter; related to splint.
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splinter