shatter

/ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/

//ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shatter" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shatter” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,933. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,933
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To violently break something into pieces.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shatter · shatter · English

shatter · rank #21,933 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,933
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shaman

Nearest frequency peer: shaman (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shatter”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shatter” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shatter vs slater
71% similar
shatter vs skater
71% similar
shatter vs sitter
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shatter
PropertyValue
Headwordshatter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#21,933
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shatter”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shatterlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “shaman” (#21,932), “shepherds” (#21,934), “shoving” (#21,935). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shatter” is #21,933. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around shatter (IPA /ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/), averb. Corpus frequency is #21,933 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for shatter, with forms such as "hsatter", "sahtter", and "shater". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "slater", "skater", "sitter", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate with Dutch sc… The correct English form is shatter, spelled S-H-A-T-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To violently break something into pieces.
  2. 2
    To destroy or disable something.
  3. 3
    To smash, or break into tiny pieces.
  4. 4
    To dispirit or emotionally defeat.
  5. 5
    Of seeds: to disperse (become dispersed) upon ripening.
  6. 6
    To scatter about.
  7. 7
    To fall sometimes connoting hard, as if to smash something, other times light and dispersed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shatter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The miners used dynamite to shatter rocks.
  2. a high-pitched voice that could shatter glass

Etymology

From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate with Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”), Low German schateren, Albanian shkatërroj (“to destroy, devastate”). Doublet of scatter.

Synonyms

shiver

This word in other languages

astillar(Español)fracasser(Français)zerschmettern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsatter
  • sahtter
  • shater
  • shatetr
  • shatterr
  • shattre
  • shhatter
  • shtater
  • sshatter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shatter - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hsatter2sahtter2shater1shatetr2shatterr1shattre2shhatter1shtater2
Edit distance from "shatter"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shatter"?
"shatter" is spelled S-H-A-T-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/.
What does "shatter" mean?
As a verb, "shatter" means: To violently break something into pieces.
What words are commonly confused with "shatter"?
"shatter" is commonly confused with "slater", "skater", "sitter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shatter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shatter" is /ˈʃæt.ə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shatter"?
From Middle English schateren (“to scatter, dash”), an assibilated form of Middle English scateren ("to scatter"; see scatter), from Old English scaterian, from Proto-Germanic *skat- (“to smash, scatter”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Cognate wit... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shatter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shoving#21,935sexiest#21,930signify#21,936sketchy#21,939

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

shaman9 variantssquirt9 variantsseaweed9 variantsversed9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list