Meanings
shatter1
present singular third person shatters · participle present shattering · participle past shattered · past shattered
- transitiveTo dispirit or emotionally defeat.
to have shattered hopes
5 more examples
to be shattered in intellect
to have a shattered constitution
a man of a loose, volatile, and shatter'd humour
1687, John Norris, Of SeriousnessYour death will shatter him. Which is what I want. Actually, I would prefer to kill him.
1984, Martyn Burke, The commissar's report,, page 36A CAT scan revealed she had an inoperable brain tumor. The news shattered Michele's mother.
1992 June 23, Rose Gradym, “Elvis Cures Teen's Brain Cancer!”, in Weekly World News, volume 13, number 38, page 41 - intransitiveagricultureOf seeds: to disperse (become dispersed) upon ripening.
Harvesting is done much as with alfalfa, but alsike seed is small and shatters if it is not handled carefully.
1961, Yearbook of Agriculture, page 175 - obsoletetransitiveTo scatter about.
Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year.
1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC - intransitiveTo fall sometimes connoting hard, as if to smash something, other times light and dispersed.
... rain shattered down on the pub windows,[…]
2022 May 28, Ian Hey, No Lift and No Stairs, Book Guild Publishing, →ISBN3 more examples
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[…]
2006 March 28, Peter Straub, In the Night Room: A Novel, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 190The heavens opened up, and the rain shattered down. She trailed a finger down the window, following drops of water as they splashed and wept down the pane.
2008 April 29, Shana Abé, The Last Mermaid: A Novel, Bantam, →ISBNHe learned forward […] and the sleeting rain shattered down like diamonds from the brim of his hat.
2015 July 7, Devon Monk, Cold Copper, Penguin, →ISBN, page 36
plural shatters
- archaiccountableA fragment of anything shattered.
to break a glass into shatters
1 more example
it will fall upon the glass of the sconce, and break it into shatters
1731 (date written; published 1745), [Jonathan] Swift, Directions to Servants […], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], and M. Cooper, […], →OCLC - countableuncountableA (pine) needle.
They are preserved in cellars, or out of doors in kilns. The method of fixing them is to raise the ground a few inches, where they are to be placed, and cover with pine shatters to the depth of six inches or more.
1859, Samuel W. Cole, The New England Farmer, page 2772 more examples
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) ...
1834, The Southern Agriculturist and Register of Rural Affairs: Adapted to the Southern Section of the United States, page 421Grandpa snapped his fingers. "Consarn it all!" he sputtered. "I plumb forgot the pine shatters. Paul and Maureen, you gather some nice smelly pine shatters from off 'n the floor of the woods. Nothin' makes a better cushion for pony feet as pine shatters ..."
2012, Marguerite Henry, Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 95Synonyms: shat
- countableuncountableA scattering, a smattering; a quantity of something scattered, like a sprinkling of seeds or a shower of rain.
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.
1931, Gerald Bullett, Marden Fee, page 991 more example
[He] steps out into the rain. It takes his eyes a moment to adjust, to get used to the misty glow of the moon above them, to take in the wild look of their yard, and the shatter of rain. The insects have escaped it at least, hidden beneath the cover of grass and foliage, beneath the low-hanging branches of the jacarandas and poincianas. Birds huddle there as well,[…]
2025 January 7, Sophie Overett, The Rabbits, Pushkin Press, →ISBN - slanguncountableA form of concentrated cannabis.
Shatter2
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA (pine) needle.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*skat-“to smash, scatter”
- Old Englishscaterian
- Middle Englishschateren“to scatter, dash”
- Englishshatter
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι
- σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Bulgarian разбивам, разтрошавам
- разбивам (razbivam)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- разтрошавам (raztrošavam)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- раздробявам (razdrobjavam)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- отломки (otlomki)a fragment of anything shattered
Catalan esmicolar-se, esmicolar
- esmicolar-se(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- esmicolar(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Chinese Mandarin 使破碎, 使碎裂
- 使破碎(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- 使碎裂(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- 粉碎 (fěnsuì)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Dutch aan diggelen slaan, verbrijzelen
- aan diggelen slaan(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- verbrijzelen(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- verbrijzelen(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Esperanto frakasi
- frakasi(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Finnish särkeä, rikkoa
- särkeä(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- rikkoa(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- pirstoa(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- särkyä(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- rikkoutua(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- pirstoutua(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
French fracasser, réduire en miettes
- fracasser(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- réduire en miettes(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- mettre en pièces(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- briser(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- éclater(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- voler en éclats(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
German zum Zerspringen bringen, zerschmettern
- zum Zerspringen bringen(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- zerschmettern(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- zersplittern(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- zerspringen(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- Splittera fragment of anything shattered
- Stückchena fragment of anything shattered
- Nadela (pine) needle
- Kiefernnadela (pine) needle
Greek θρυμματίζω, συντρίβω
- θρυμματίζω (thrymmatízo)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- συντρίβω (syntrívo)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- κατατρίβω (katatrívo)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- κατατρίβω (katatrívo)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- καταστρέφω (katastréfo)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- καταργώ (katargó)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Irish réab, réab
- réab(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- réab(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Italian fracassare, spaccare
- fracassare(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- spaccare(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- sconquassare(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- frantumare(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- andare in frantumi(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- sbriciolarsi(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Latin frangō, comminuō
- frangō(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- comminuō(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Māori pākarukaru
- pākarukaru(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Persian کراشیدن
- کراشیدن (kerâšidan)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Portuguese estilhaçar, estilhaçar
- estilhaçar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- estilhaçar(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- estilhaçoa fragment of anything shattered
- cacoa fragment of anything shattered
Russian разбива́ть, разби́ть
- разбива́ть (razbivátʹ)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- разби́ть (razbítʹ)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- разбива́ться (razbivátʹsja)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- разби́ться (razbítʹsja)(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Spanish astillar, reventar
- astillar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- reventar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- quebrantar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- hacer añicos(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- cachar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- esclafar(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- hacer trizas(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- astillarse(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- reventar[se](intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- hacerse añicos(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- quebrantarse(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- estallar(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Swahili kuvunja
- kuvunja(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Swedish krossa, krossa
- krossa(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- krossa(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- krascha(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
- krasa(intransitive) to violently break into pieces
Ukrainian розтро́щувати, розтрощи́ти
- розтро́щувати (roztróščuvaty)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- розтрощи́ти (roztroščýty)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
- трощи́ти (troščýty)(transitive) to smash, to violently break into tiny pieces
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with shatter
Anagrams
Cite this entry
shatter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter
“shatter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shatter,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter.
Source: shatter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.