Definition

1. Noun:

   • A rigid support used to immobilize a body part: A medical device, often made of wood, metal, or plastic, used to hold a fractured or injured bone or joint in place to prevent movement and aid healing.
   • A thin, sharp piece of wood or material: A sliver or fragment, especially of wood, that has split off from a larger piece.

2. Verb:

   • To secure or support with a splint: The act of applying a rigid device to immobilize a broken or injured bone or joint.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Medical Device):
  • After the accident, the doctor put her arm in a splint.
  • The first-aid kit contained a finger splint for emergencies.
• Noun (Thin Sliver):
  • He got a splint of wood in his finger while working.
  • In the past, a burning splint was used to light fires.
• Verb:
  • The paramedic will splint the broken leg before moving the patient.
  • It is important to splint the injured finger to prevent further damage.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in a splint": To have a body part immobilized by a splint.
  • His ankle will be in a splint for the next six weeks.
• "Hairline splint": A very fine, almost invisible sliver.
  • The old table had hairline splints coming off its surface.

Variants and Related Words

• Splinter (noun/verb): A very small, sharp fragment of wood, glass, or similar material that has broken off; to break into such fragments. (This is a close synonym for the "thin sliver" meaning of as a noun).
• Brace (noun): A device that supports or holds a body part in the correct position, often used for a longer period or for different purposes than a splint.

Synonyms

• Noun (Medical): Support, brace, cast (a cast is typically made of plaster or fiberglass and surrounds the limb).
• Noun (Sliver): Sliver, shard, fragment, chip.
• Verb: Immobilize, support, brace.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: "Splint" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. The action is typically expressed simply as "to splint.")

Related Idioms

(Note: There are no common idioms that use the word "splint" as their core component.)

Noun

1. an orthopedic mechanical device used to immobilize and protect a part of the body (as a broken leg)
2. a thin sliver of wood
   • he lit the fire with a burning splint

Verb

1. support with a splint
   • splint a broken finger