Did you know?
Shard dates back to Old English (where it was spelled sceard) and is related to Old English scieran, meaning "to cut." English speakers have adopted the modernized shard spelling for most uses, but archaeologists prefer to spell the word sherd when referring to the ancient fragments of pottery (sometimes referred to specifically as potsherds) they unearth. While shard initially referred to exactly such items, today the word is also used more broadly to encompass slivers of intangible concepts. A baseless accusation may be made "without a shard of evidence," and fans of the losing team may "cling to a shard of hope" until the final score. The utility of shard is its, ahem, point.
Examples of shard in a Sentence
Rosa Rahimi, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
Maple bats tend to splinter regularly sending shards like projectiles into the stands, while birch bats are more durable.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 2 Apr. 2025
The image showed the aftermath of the destruction—a puddle of Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac and shards of glass.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Good: deliberately allowing his hands to be pierced by shards of glass to transform his body into a swiss-army knife.
—Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shard
Cite this Entry
“Shard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shard. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shard
noun
Share