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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
Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2025
For safety, clean up the shards now but spare yourself the emotional fallout.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 27 Mar. 2025
The shards weren’t discovered in the Alberts’ yard until after 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, according to Vanity Fair.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 18 Mar. 2025
The theory, laid out in a study published February 27 in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on examinations of tiny shards found in 2020 inside the skull and spinal column of an individual at Herculaneum–a small port town with a population of around 5,000 people at the time.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 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 13 Apr. 2025.
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shard
noun
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