shatter
pronunciation
How to pronounce shatter in British English:
UK [ˈʃætə(r)]
How to pronounce shatter in American English:
US [ˈʃætər]
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- Verb:
- break into many pieces
- break into many pieces
Word Origin
- shatter
- shatter: see scatter
- shatter (v.)
- early 14c., transitive, probably a variant of Middle English scateren (see scatter (v.)). Compare Old Dutch schetteren Low German schateren. Formations such as scatter-brained had parallel forms in shatter-brained, etc. Intransitive sense from 1560s. Related: Shattered; shattering. Carlyle (1841) used shatterment. Shatters "fragments" is from 1630s.
Example
- 1. If true , it could shatter on the key tents of christianity
- 2. Corporate-bond issuance is on track to shatter records this year .
- 3. Eg. nothing could shatter his faith .
- 4. That is why I laugh at myself and shatter my secret in jest .
- 5. In the uk , there are growing fears that the crisis could shatter fragile consumer and business confidence and increase the risk that the already weak economy plunges into a double-dip recession .