sliver

/ˈslɪvər/

/ˈslɪvə/

Other forms: slivers; slivered; slivering

A very thin slice or bit of something is a sliver. A sliver of hope is better than a sliver of doubt, but having a sliver of wood in your foot is the worst. That’s called a splinter, and it hurts!

You'll want to watch out for slivers of glass if you break a drinking glass in the sink, and machinists have to wear special protective goggles to guard against flying slivers of metal. If you just want a bite of dessert, you can ask for just a sliver of cheesecake. Sliver is also a verb, meaning "splinter," or "cut into thin pieces." It comes from a verb that's now obsolete, sliven, "to split."

Definitions of sliver

1. noun

   a small thin sharp bit of wood or glass or metal
   “it broke into slivers”

   synonyms: splinter

   type of:

   bit, chip, flake, fleck, scrap

   a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
2. noun

   a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something
   synonyms: paring, shaving

   types:

   splint

   a thin sliver of wood

   turning

   a shaving created when something is produced by turning it on a lathe

   type of:

   fragment

   a piece broken off or cut off of something else
3. noun

   (figurative) a small or narrow piece or slice
4. verb

   divide into slivers or splinters
   synonyms: splinter

   type of:

   carve up, dissever, divide, divvy, separate, split, split up

   separate into parts or portions
5. verb

   break up into splinters or slivers
   synonyms: splinter

   type of:

   break up, fragment, fragmentise, fragmentize

   break or cause to break into pieces
6. verb

   form into slivers
   “sliver wood”

   type of:

   form, shape

   give shape or form to