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To break at once into many pieces; to dash, burst, or part violently into fragments; to rend into splinters; as, an explosion shatters a rock or a bomb; too much steam shatters a boiler; an oak is shattered by lightning. A monarchy was shattered to pieces, and divided amongst revolted subjects. Locke.…

Easily breaking into pieces; not compact; loose of texture; brittle; as, shattery spar.

wl, a kind of rich shawl made in India from the wool of the Cashmere goat. It is woven in pieces, which are sewed together. -- Shawl goat (Zoöl.), the Cashmere goat.

for stepping and unstepping the lower masts of ships. It consists of two or more spars or pieces of timber, fastened together near the top, steadied by a guy or guys, and furnished with the necessary tackle. [Written also sheers.]

In general, a large, broad piece of anything thin, as paper, cloth, etc.; a broad, thin portion of any substance; an expanded superficies. Specifically:

The act or process of forming into sheets, or flat pieces; also, material made into sheets.

A piece of timber running the whole length of a vessel inside the timberheads. D. Kemp. To lay on the shelf, to lay aside as unnecessary or useless; to dismiss; to discard.

Bit, n., 3. -- Shell button. (a) A button made of shell. (b) A hollow button made of two pieces, as of metal, one for the front and the other for the back, -- often covered with cloth, silk, etc. -- Shell cameo, a cameo cut in shell instead of stone. -- Shell flower. (Bot.) Same as Turtlehead. -- Shell gland. (Zoöl…

rity. Who into shelter takes their tender bloom. Young. Shelter tent,a small tent made of pieces of cotton duck arranged to button together. In field service the soldiers carry the pieces.

A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, -- formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body. See Buckler. Now put your shields before your hearts and fight, With hearts more proof than shields. Shak.

A thin piece of metal placed between two parts to make a fit.

A bright piece of money. [Slang] Has she the shiners, d' ye think Foote. black eye.

A piece of wood sawed or rived thin and small, with one end thinner than the other, -- used in covering buildings, especially roofs, the thick ends of one row overlapping the thin ends of the row below. I reached St. Asaph, . . . where there is a very poor cathedral church covered with shingles or tiles. Ray.…

The breaking in pieces, or shattering, of a ship or other vessel by being cast ashore or driven against rocks, shoals, etc., by the violence of the winds and waves.

A thin piece or fragment; specifically, one of the scales or pieces of the woody part of flax removed by the operation of breaking.

One of the small pieces, or splinters, into which a brittle thing is broken by sudden violence; -- generally used in the plural. "All to shivers dashed." Milton.

A lot consisting of sixty pieces; -- a term applied in some Baltic ports to loose goods.

A drag, or sliding piece of wood or iron, placed under the wheel of a loaded vehicle, to retard its motion in going down a hill.

A curved piece of polished horn, wood, or metal used to facilitate the entrance of the foot into a shoe.

The parts of a piece of house furniture, as a bedstead, packed together.