shiver

SHIV-ur/ˈʃɪvɚ/UKSHIV-uh/ˈʃɪvə/

Verbshivers, shivering, shivered

Noun pluralshivers

13 meanings of shiver

Practice

1
verbintransitive
To shake a little because you feel cold or scared.
Like a leaf shaking in a cold wind.
I always shiver when I step out into the snow.
She was shivering under the thin blanket all night.
Similartremble, shake, quiver, shudder
Note
2
nouncountable
A quick shake of the body, usually from cold or fear.
Like a quick shake that passes through you, then stops.
A sudden shiver ran down my back.
The cold gave her a shiver.
Similarshudder, tremor, quiver, frisson, chill
Note
3
nouncountable
Fast shaking of the body that happens when you get too cold.
Like a heater that switches on by itself when a room gets too cold.
Doctors watched for a shiver as the patient's temperature kept dropping.
Her uncontrollable shiver warned the guide that she needed to warm up fast.
Similartremor, shudder
Note
4
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break suddenly into many small pieces.
Like a dry twig snapping into bits.
The glass shivered into a hundred pieces when it hit the floor.
A single blow can shiver thin ice.
Similarshatter, splinter, smash
Note
5
nouncountable
A small sharp piece broken off glass or stone.
Like a tiny chip that flies off when a plate breaks.
A shiver of glass cut his finger.
She swept up the shivers scattered across the floor.
Similarsplinter, fragment, shard, sliver, chip
Note
6
nouncollectivecountable
A group of sharks swimming together.
Like calling a group of wolves a pack.
A shiver of sharks circled the diving cage.
Divers spotted a shiver near the reef at dawn.
Similarschool
Note
7
verbtransitive
To make a sail shake by turning the boat too close to the wind.
Like a flag flapping loosely when the wind hits its edge.
If you steer too tight, you will shiver the sail.
The helmsman shivered the jib by pointing straight into the breeze.
Similarluff
Note
8
nouncountable
A small wedge used to hold a window shutter's bolt in place.
Like a small doorstop wedge that keeps something from moving.
He tapped a shiver under the bolt to keep the shutter shut.
The old shutters each needed a wooden shiver to stay closed.
Similarwedge
9
nouncountable
The small wheel inside a pulley that a rope runs over.
Like the little wheel a clothesline runs over so it can slide easily.
The rope jumped off the shiver when the load swung.
A rusty shiver made the pulley squeak with every pull.
Similarsheave
Note
10
nouncountable or uncountable
A kind of blue-gray slate, a type of rock.
Like the flat gray stone used to make some old roofs.
The old roof was covered with shiver from a nearby quarry.
Workers split the shiver into thin, flat tiles.
Similarslate
Note
11
noundialectalNorfolkcountable
A small piece of wood stuck in your skin.
Like a tiny thorn that gets stuck under your skin.
She pulled a shiver out of her thumb with tweezers.
A painful shiver lodged deep in his palm.
Similarsplinter, sliver
Note

Less common meanings

12
nounobsoleteUK
A thin slice cut from something, such as bread.
Like one thin slice cut off a loaf of bread.
She cut a shiver of bread for each child at the table.
a shiver of their own loaf
1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of BritainHere, shiver means a thin slice, especially of bread.
Note
13
nounobsoleteUK
A thin rod or pin that something turns on.
Like the thin rod a spinning top turns around.
She wound the wool around the shiver as she spun.
The old wheel turned on a worn wooden shiver.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of shiver apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 7

The origin is not certain. It may be a change of "chavel," or come from "sheaf."

Meanings 4–5, 8–13

It comes from a Germanic word, probably in Old English though never written down, related to Old High German "scivaro" (German "Schiefer," meaning slate).

Meaning 6

Origin uncertain