splinter

3 definitions • 4 examples

a small, sharp, broken piece of wood, glass, plastic, or similar material:

splinter (of) The girl had a splinter (of wood) in her toe.

to break into small, sharp pieces:

The edges of the plastic cover had cracked and splintered.

splinter into figurative The danger is that the Conservative Party may splinter into several smaller political parties.

a small, sharp, piece of wood, glass, or similar material that has broken off a larger piece:

She tried to ignore the splinter in her foot.