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smithereen

English

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Smithereen¹

  • /ˌsmiðəˈɹiːn/

Where it comes from

From the name of the city, after Sir A. W. Smithers (1850–1924), chairman of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Influenced by smithereens?

noun Smithereens

  1. Canada A native of Smithers, British Columbia.

smithereen²

  • /smɪðəˈɹiːn/ Ireland, UK
  • /ˌsmɪðəˈɹin/ US

Rhymes with -iːn

Where it comes from

See smithereens.

noun smithereens

  1. plural normally, rare A tiny fragment or splinter.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"smithereen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/smithereen. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

smithereen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/smithereen

Chicago

"smithereen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/smithereen.

BibTeX
@misc{smithereen_2026,
  title = {smithereen},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smithereen},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}