splint

[ splint ]
See synonyms for splint on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a thin piece of wood or other rigid material used to immobilize a fractured or dislocated bone, or to maintain any part of the body in a fixed position.

  2. one of a number of thin strips of wood woven together to make a chair seat, basket, etc.

  1. Veterinary Medicine. an exostosis or bony enlargement of a splint bone of a horse or a related animal.

  2. Armor.

    • any of a number of narrow plates or lames joined with rivets or a backing to form a piece of armor.

    • a partial vambrace protecting only the outer part of the arm.

  3. British Dialect. a splinter of wood or stone.

verb (used with object)
  1. to secure, hold in position, or support by means of a splint or splints, as a fractured bone.

  2. to support as if with splints.

Origin of splint

1
1275–1325; Middle English <Middle Dutch or Middle Low German splinte;cf. splinter

Other words from splint

  • splintlike, adjective
  • un·splint·ed, adjective

Words Nearby splint

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use splint in a sentence

  • He found that his right hand was tightly and firmly bandaged, and kept still by a splint.

    Julian Home | Dean Frederic W. Farrar
  • Old Gid, in his splint-bottomed chair, leaned back against the wall and feasted his eyes upon their antics.

    An Arkansas Planter | Opie Percival Read
  • He confirmed Garry's finding that the leg was not broken, and complimented him on his neat job of putting on the temporary splint.

British Dictionary definitions for splint

splint

/ (splɪnt) /


noun
  1. a rigid support for restricting movement of an injured part, esp a broken bone

  2. a thin sliver of wood, esp one that is used to light cigars, a fire, etc

  1. a thin strip of wood woven with others to form a chair seat, basket, etc

  2. vet science inflammation of the small metatarsal or metacarpal bones along the side of the cannon bone of a horse

  3. one of the overlapping metal plates used in armour after about 1330

  4. another word for splinter

verb
  1. to apply a splint to (a broken arm, etc)

Origin of splint

1
C13: from Middle Low German splinte; related to Middle Dutch splinte splint, Old High German spaltan to split

Derived forms of splint

  • splintlike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012