as in chip
a small flat piece separated from a whole
found a variety of uses for the spalls left over from their stonecutting operations
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Recent Examples of spall
The curtains are made up of overlapping, three-quarter inch plates of AR500 steel encased in a layer of ballistic nylon that captures spall, the shards of metal that break off from a colliding bullet.
—
Dan Robitzski, Popular Mechanics, 8 Mar. 2018
The reports noted that numerous repairs had been made to cracks and spalls in the spillway.
—Bettina Boxall, latimes.com, 24 Apr. 2017
Dan Robitzski, Popular Mechanics, 8 Mar. 2018
The reports noted that numerous repairs had been made to cracks and spalls in the spillway.
—Bettina Boxall, latimes.com, 24 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spall
Noun
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Nvidia has cemented itself at the heart of the AI boom with a monopoly on the most powerful chips to train and run models, but a growing crop of startups are set on challenging the company's supremacy.—
Kai Nicol-Schwarz,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2026
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Little Debbie says the chocolate chip cookie features a light golden-brown finish and semi-sweet chocolate chips, while the peanut butter cookie is formulated with real peanut butter.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That's just a sliver of an industry that counts some 450 watchmakers in Switzerland alone.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
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This original nugget is now reduced to a sliver, residing in the Privy Purse Office.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Another passerby suffered a minor injury after being struck with a bullet fragment that struck a wall.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
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During past close approaches with the Sun, Phaethon released vast amounts of dust and larger fragments.—
Patrick M. Shober,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In 1903, a vicious winter storm reduced most of the piers to splinters, and by 1906 offshore oil production at Summerland had all but ceased.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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Upon impact, cannonballs would have sent wooden splinters flying like debris from grenades.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But the companies' origins began when a pair of feuding Battle Creek, Michigan, brothers stumbled onto a sheet of flakes that would revolutionize breakfast.—
Heather Bushman,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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The older one bounces his Spalding off the brick walls; the younger one digs his fingers into the box of corn flakes for the plastic prize.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Along with another Gelfling, Kira (voiced by Lisa Maxwell), Jen is tasked with retrieving a shard of the crystal within three days to prevent the Skeksis from ruling Thra forever.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
16 Apr. 2026
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Hussaini assembles the shards of her home city of Kabul into a mosaic, honoring its history, culture, and future.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spall. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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