smithereens
plural noun
Ron CowenNiall FergusonMordecai RichlerBruce Bower
Did you know?
Despite its American sound and its common use by the fiery animated cartoon character Yosemite Sam, smithereens did not originate in American slang. Although no one is entirely positive about its precise origins, scholars think that smithereens likely developed from the Irish word smidiríní, which means "little bits." That Irish word is the diminutive of smiodar, meaning "fragment." According to print evidence, the plural form smithereens first appears in English in the late 18th century; use of singular smithereen then follows.
Examples of smithereens in a Sentence
Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 13 Jan. 2023
When Rs propose some spending cuts, Ds demagogue it to smithereens.
—Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2023
This latest setup, which utilized a technique called inertial confinement fusion, involved blasting fusion fuel into smithereens with lasers.
—Mike Pearl, The New Republic, 14 Dec. 2022
Viktoriia Markova, whose home in Chernihiv was smashed to smithereens by an artillery shell, was recently given a small shelter in her backyard for her, her husband and teenage son.
—Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2022
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Cite this Entry
“Smithereens.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smithereens. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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smithereens
plural noun
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