What does "shatter" mean?
A fragment of anything shattered.
Shatter
/ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fragment of anything shattered.
- Grammar: shatter is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: agitate, annihilate, atomize, batter.
- Useful contrasts: unbroken, moulder, remain intact.
- Usage evidence: I call on the living, lament the dead, shatter the lightning.
How to use "shatter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shatter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shatter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shatter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shatter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shatter" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "agitate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shatter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fragment of anything shattered. archaic, countable
"to break a glass into shatters"
- 2 A (pine) needle. countable, uncountable
"My usual habit is, as soon as I get my wheat trodden out, and my corn secured in the fall, to litter my farm yard (and if my cultivation is far off, I select some warm spot near the field) with leaves and pine shatters, (preferring the former) ..."
- 3 A scattering, a smattering; a quantity of something scattered, like a sprinkling of seeds or a shower of rain. countable, uncountable
"There's a tidy shatter of sin already in the Fee, says Parson. Ah, says I, but us can't all be saints like yourself, Parson."
- 4 A form of concentrated cannabis. slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To violently break something into pieces. transitive
"The miners used dynamite to shatter rocks."
- 2 break into many pieces wordnet
- 3 To destroy or disable something. transitive
- 4 cause to break into many pieces wordnet
- 5 To smash, or break into tiny pieces. intransitive
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 damage or destroy wordnet
- 7 To dispirit or emotionally defeat. transitive
"to be shattered in intellect"
- 8 Of seeds: to disperse (become dispersed) upon ripening. intransitive
"Harvesting is done much as with alfalfa, but alsike seed is small and shatters if it is not handled carefully."
- 9 To scatter about. obsolete, transitive
"Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year."
- 10 To fall sometimes connoting hard, as if to smash something, other times light and dispersed. intransitive
"Bulletlike rain shattered down. Instantly, Willy was soaked to the skin. Then her right foot skidded out before her, and she felt her balance begin to go. Inevitably and with shocking swiftness came the moment when her body obeyed gravity[…]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"I call on the living, lament the dead, shatter the lightning."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shatter"?
Common synonyms include: agitate, annihilate, atomize, batter, bicker, blast.
How do you use "shatter" in a sentence?
I call on the living, lament the dead, shatter the lightning.
How do you pronounce "shatter"?
Pronounced /ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate with Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”), Low German schateren, Albanian shkatërroj (“to destroy, devastate”). Doublet of scatter.