Meanings
plural slivers
- A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.
A sliver of bone has punctured a lung, and a small surgical operation was needed to remove it (would he like to keep the bone as a memento?--it is in a phial by his bedside).
2013, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 27, in The Childhood of Jesus, Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company, page 2701 more example
This is the tasting ritual, the lay Eucharist of cheese. The buyer squeezes the sliver of cheese between his fingers to test its consistency, sniffs it, and then tastes it as delicately as if it were the most subtle caviar.
1972, Félix Martí-Ibáñez, The mirror of souls, and other essays, page 339 - fishingBait made of pieces of small fish.
present singular third person slivers · participle present slivering · participle past slivered · past slivered
- transitiveTo cut or divide into long, thin pieces, or into very small pieces; to cut or rend lengthwise; to slit.
to sliver wood
2 more examples
slips of yew, Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]They'll sliver thee like a turnip.
1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small amount of something; a drop in the bucket; a shred.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishslīfan
- Middle Englishsliven“to cut, cleave, split”
- Middle Englishslivere, sliver
- Englishsliver
From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian вълмо, треска
- вълмо (vălmo)strand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- треска (treska)long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Chinese Mandarin 裂片
- 裂片 (lièpiàn)long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Czech odštěpek, tříska
- odštěpeklong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- třískalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- odřezeklong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Finnish kuontalo, säle
- kuontalostrand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- sälelong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- tikkulong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
French languette, tour
- languettebait made of pieces of small fish
- tourNew York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- gratte-cielNew York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- échardelong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- éclatlong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
German Band, Faserband
- Bandstrand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- Faserbandstrand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- Splitterlong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- kleiner Teillong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- kleines Stücklong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- Spreißellong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Icelandic flís, flaski
- flíslong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- flaskilong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Italian grattacielo, scheggia
- grattacieloNew York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- scheggialong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- frammentolong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- scaglialong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- spezzonelong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Korean 조각
- 조각 (jogak)long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Latvian skaida
- skaidalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Māori hōripi, kōripi
- hōripilong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- kōripilong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Portuguese lasca
- lascalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Romanian surcea, așchie
- surcealong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- așchielong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Russian дом-точка, ще́пка
- дом-точка (dom-točka)New York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- ще́пка (ščépka)long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- оско́лок (oskólok)long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Slovak trieska, štiepka
- trieskalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- štiepkalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Spanish cebo lengüeta, edificio
- cebo lengüetabait made of pieces of small fish
- edificioNew York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- rascacielosNew York: narrow high-rise apartment building
- china small amount
- pizcaa small amount
- astillalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- tiralong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- esquirlalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- rebanaditalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Swedish livagn, flisa
- livagnbait made of pieces of small fish
- flisalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- spetalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- stickalong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Turkish kordon, şerit
- kordonstrand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- şeritstrand or slender roll of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state
- kıymıklong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
- ince dilimlong piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sliver
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sliver. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sliver
“sliver.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sliver. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sliver,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sliver.
Source: sliver on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.