How to Use shatter in a Sentence

shatter

1 of 2 verb
  • The rock shattered the window.
  • The end of his marriage shattered him emotionally.
  • His dreams were shattered by their rejection.
  • The fall shattered her pelvis and hip.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 10 May 2026
  • When does the world shatter around her?
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The news of her death shattered that hope.
    — Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But both can twist and shatter a life.
    — Trymaine Lee, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
  • That look was enough to shatter her.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
  • With it, five lives were shattered.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Then spring dreams are shattered.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
  • The man who was her rock said he's now shattered by this grief.
    — Jermont Terry, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
  • And in a couple of weeks my mind was shattered.
    — Ben Lerner, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
  • My heart is shattered and the wound is real.
    — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
  • That trust is now at risk of being shattered.
    — Tracie Thill, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Let this month soften you, not shatter you.
    — Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 30 Sep. 2025
  • About an hour later, the calm was shattered.
    — Nathan Rott, NPR, 27 Mar. 2026
  • My heart is shattered, and so is our daughter's.
    — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026
  • Thin and crispy layers shattered with each bite.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The glass shatters with a spray that shimmers in the lantern light.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • The death of a pet has shattered my heart more than any other loss.
    — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 26 June 2026
  • High winds can shatter glass, rip off siding and tear off roofs.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 23 June 2026
  • Her instinct has been shattered by her breakup.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 May 2026
  • But losing a child, a full grown child, your soul is shattered.
    — Susan Young, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The sky has shattered, shards fill the alleys.
    — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • Glass was left shattered on the sidewalk.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Some of their windows were shattered.
    — Jasmine Green, NBC news, 5 Mar. 2026
  • The boys were 5, 7 and 9 when their world was shattered.
    — Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 May 2026
  • The torn meniscus shattered that plan.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • And not just broken, but shattered.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Walls creaked, tiles fell from the walls, glass objects shattered on the floor.
    — Gustavo Ocando Alex, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026

shatter

2 of 2 noun
  • Don't pull in a jerky way, though—that will make the egg shell shatter.
    — Sarah Rense, Esquire, 26 Apr. 2017
  • These are clog-free pumps that are easy to refill and are shatter-proof.
    — Chris Hachey, BGR, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Live outside the box and shatter every rule not made for you.
    — Glamour, 8 Nov. 2021
  • Glass can break or shatter, so plastic is safer in that aspect.
    — Barbara Bellesi Zito, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2022
  • At any point, the entire vessel could break off the pipe and shatter.
    — Liz Logan, Smithsonian, 13 July 2019
  • The deputy approaches the door, lifts his weapon and the glass shatters.
    — Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 30 July 2019
  • The glass portion of the door struck a large planter, causing the glass to shatter.
    — cleveland, 15 Aug. 2020
  • The woman heard the glass shatter and the car horn go off and ran back inside her house.
    — Sarah Horner, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2019
  • The containers are durable, shatter-proof, and air-tight to keep products fresh.
    — Lauren Taylor, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2023
  • The shatter-proof cover above the warewashing area was loose.
    — Sarah Linn, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • On the fourth time around, the GPS falls off, shatters, and gets hit by a car.
    — Lauren Cook, The Cut, 15 May 2018
  • The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records.
    — Michael Sebastian, Town & Country, 11 Jan. 2017
  • The wave reaches its greatest possible height and shatters in a spray of white.
    — Han Kang, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
  • Viewers are meant to feel it viscerally every time a nose shatters or a rib cracks.
    — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, 24 Oct. 2018
  • This version also comes with a straw cap, which, when closed, is leakproof and shatter-resistant.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2026
  • Thompson, who was awake, heard the glass door shatter, ran to grab her son and was shot once in the buttocks and twice in one of her arms.
    — oregonlive, 17 Dec. 2019
  • The footage shows a goat walking up to a glass door, butting its head against the pane, and then running away after the glass shatters.
    — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, 21 July 2017
  • Without the bread slices smothering the shatter and snap of bacon and lettuce, there’s a lot more crunch.
    — Melissa Clark, The Seattle Times, 28 Aug. 2018
  • But casserole dishes shatter when dropped, and fryer oil soaks right through the paper towels.
    — Outdoor Life, 27 May 2020
  • Baby rice is hull-less, which means its softer hulls shatter into smaller pieces that are gentler on the teeth.
    — From Contributors and Staff, Journal Sentinel, 1 Dec. 2022
  • After a brief dance break and a sequence in which the star turns to glass and shatters before our eyes, the two finally kiss.
    — Stephen Daw, Billboard, 26 Apr. 2018
  • Police are disinclined to notice as rocks are hurled and windows shatter.
    — Neal Rubin, Freep.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Hail the size of golf balls or even baseballs is the biggest concern, which could dent cars, shatter windshields and damage roofs.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2026
  • So will Randazzo’s killing shatter that sense of calm and safety people have come to expect here?
    — Lisa J. Huriash, sun-sentinel.com, 1 Nov. 2019
  • The containers themselves are also made of a thicker, shatter-proof plastic that odors won't cling to.
    — Samantha Gordon, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2017
  • His six Fuel comrades went crashing to the stage floor when Lee hit them with an in-person earth shatter.
    — Sean Collins, Dallas News, 9 July 2021
  • When the bottle hits the wall, the bottle shatters spreading the kinetic energy out across a wide area.
    — Allison Barrie, Fox News, 31 May 2018
  • The display will be more shatter-resistant than the Series 8.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 11 July 2022
  • The front and back glass survived some drops from head height, but the smaller iPhone 13 Pro’s screen did shatter.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 27 Sep. 2021
  • The lid is made of shatter-resistant construction with a magnet that makes for easy opening and closing.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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