1
a
: a piece or fragment of a brittle substance
shards of glass
broadly : a small piece or part : scrap
little shards of time and space recorded by the camera's lens Rosalind Krauss
b
: shell, scale
especially : elytron
2
or sherd : a fragment of a pottery vessel found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived
3
: highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments

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

Recent Examples on the Web Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to date one mass grave to between the late 1400s and early 1600s, and found shards of pottery and coins dating from the later end of that range at the site. Jack Guy, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The deer had crashed through a window near the hot tub and sent shards of glass across the pool deck, according to a news release from the Town of LaSalle. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024 After their car veers off the road and hits a tree, Allie jams a shard of broken headlight glass into her captor’s eye and escapes. Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 The side view, however, reveals jagged wooden shards of varying length that jut horizontally from the simple form, conveying dynamism and unpredictability. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 Twisted and charred aluminum mixed with shards of glass still lines the floor of the industrial warehouse where Victoria Martocci once operated her scuba diving business. Kurtis Lee Brendan George Ko, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024 Low gravity on the Moon also means perturbed shards keep flying around and getting into everything. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 27 Oct. 2023 Drab visuals aside, the actual bending scenes are a vast improvement over Shyamalan’s version, and there’s a distinct thrill in watching characters lob fireballs, raise walls of solid rock, or freeze ocean waves into spiky shards of ice. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2024 While the couple took photos, guests gathered on the lake terrace for cocktail hour and to enjoy Parmigiano shards from Modena and custom CYK Caviar. Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English sceard; akin to Old English scieran to cut — more at shear

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of shard was before the 12th century

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Dictionary Entries Near shard

Cite this Entry

“Shard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shard. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shard

noun
: a piece or fragment of something brittle (as pottery)

More from Merriam-Webster on shard

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