splinter

plural splinters

1. A long, sharp fragment of material, often wood.
   1. A small such fragment that gets embedded in the flesh.
2. A group that formed by splitting off from a larger membership.

   Synonyms: faction, splinter group

3. bridgeA double-jump bid which indicates shortage in the bid suit.
4. human sciencesA fragment of a component word in a blend.

present singular third person splinters · participle present splintering · participle past splintered · past splintered

1. intransitiveTo come apart into long sharp fragments.

   The tall tree splintered during the storm.

   1 more example

   It was all coming at her now: the fatigue and the fever; pieces of her lung splintering and mixing with her throwup; the calcifications on her bones, where the disease had already spread.

   2012, Marcus Samuelsson, “One: My African Mother”, in Yes, Chef, Random House, →ISBN, page 6

2. transitiveTo cause to break apart into long sharp fragments.

   His third kick splintered the door.

   1 more example

   After splintering their lances, they wheeled about, and […] abandoned the field to the enemy.

   1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC

3. figurativelyTo break, or cause to break, into factions.

   The unpopular new policies splintered the company.

   1 more example

   The government splintered when the coalition members could not agree.

4. transitiveTo fasten or confine with splinters, or splints, as a broken limb.

   it will be very hard for Me to Splinter up the broken confuséd Pieces of it.

   1659, Matthew Wren, Monarchy Asserted Or The State of Monarchicall & Popular Government

plural Splinters

1. A surname.