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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In August, the president announced a deal between the federal government and Nvidia, allowing the American chip producer to sell advanced semiconductors to Chinese buyers in exchange for a 15% cut of the profits.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Cadence has expanded this technology beyond chip design towards creating digital twins of data centers including all the functional components.—
Thomas Coughlin,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Despite being only a sliver in size, the tachocline is believed to be the engine room of the un’s magnetic activity.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
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To be clear, when tallying the human cost of these guns-everywhere laws, political assassinations make up a tiny sliver.—
John Feinblatt,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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What lingers are the fragments that weren’t rehearsed, a voice breaking, a note pulled from the back of a notebook, a chant that filled the room, a line spoken more to a spouse than to the cameras.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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One of these middens spanned an area the size of five football pitches and was packed with the remains of the feast—up to 15 million bone fragments.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The score surges and splinters, and the world is askew.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
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The brittle, eco-friendly bamboo straw is another concession to the community, as are the splinters.—
Joe Joyce,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Gonadal tissues showed the highest microplastic concentrations, with fibers comprising 85 percent of particles, followed by flakes and films.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Nothing about Francis Lawrence’s take-no-prisoners adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King) staggering novel offers one shard of hope for any of us to wrap our bloodied fingers around.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
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Kafka’s life and work are fragmented, so the film had to be fragmented too—piecing together shards of his fiction, his letters, and his lived experience.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spall. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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