Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shatter

/ˈʃætə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.22 in modern English

Syllables
shat-ter
IPA
/ˈʃætə/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Of brittle solid materials (like glass or ice), to violently break into pieces.

verb

To destroy, disable.

Transitive verb

verb

To dispirit or emotionally defeat.

Transitive verb

verb

Of seeds: to disperse (become dispersed) upon ripening.

Intransitive verb

verb

To scatter about.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To fall sometimes connoting hard, as if to smash something, other times light and dispersed.

Intransitive verb

noun

A fragment of anything shattered.

Archaic; Countable

noun

A (pine) needle.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate with Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”), Low German schateren, Albanian shkatërroj (“to destroy, devastate”). Doublet of scatter.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈʃætə/
  • British English: /ˈʃætə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

shatters (present, singular) shattering (participle, present) shattered (participle, past) shattered (past) shatters (plural)

Derived Forms

antishatter earthshattering nonshatter shatterable shatterbox shatterbrained shattercane shatterer shatterpated shatterproof shattery unshatter

Phrases

ear-shattering earth-shattering heart-shattering shatter attack shatter cone shatter the ice

Synonyms

shat shiver

Rhymes With

matter latter batter scatter chatter flatter platter fatter hatter splatter patter clatter

Questions

How do you pronounce shatter?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃætə/.
What does shatter mean?
Of brittle solid materials (like glass or ice), to violently break into pieces.
Where does shatter come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce shatter

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shatter”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʃætə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shatter”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shatter” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.