Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Shatter for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Shatter" — verb, pronounced /ˈʃætə(r)/, with the stress on "shat".
Narrator: To shatter is to break suddenly into many small pieces.
Narrator: In plain English, it means smash into bits.
Narrator: It comes from Middle English schateren, to scatter.
Narrator: A common collocation is "shatter a record", which describes beating it by a lot.
Narrator: It differs from "crack", because a crack is a line, while shatter breaks completely.
Narrator: In a second sense, news can shatter your hopes or leave you shattered, meaning exhausted.
Narrator: Sport, glassmaking, emotions and safety all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: shatter breaks into pieces.
Speaker A: What was that crash?
Speaker B: The vase SHATTERED! From Middle English for scatter.
Speaker A: Into pieces?
Speaker B: Hundreds.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The window shattered in the storm", accidents. "She shattered the world record", sport. "I'm shattered after work", tiredness.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Double the "t", "shatter".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Smash is its cousin, splinter its twin, and break an alternative — yet shatter keeps its dramatic charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "shatter" in AI prompts — useful for game effects and sports writing.
Speaker A: How for games?
Speaker B: Effects.
Prompt: Write code for a glass shatter effect when the player breaks a window.
Speaker A: And sport?
Speaker B: Headlines.
Prompt: Write a headline for a runner who shattered the national record.
Speaker A: Could it help safety?
Speaker B: Yes, for products.
Prompt: Explain the difference between tempered and laminated glass when it shatters.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Wellbeing.
Prompt: Suggest ways to recover when you feel completely shattered after a long week.
Shatter — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary