Meaning

(countable) A splinter, fragment or chip, especially of stone..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) A splinter, fragment or chip, especially of stone.
2. (uncountable, especially concerning ferroconcrete structures or metal objects) A process of weathering, aging, or other wear that involves the crumbling of the substrate.
3. (ambitransitive) To break into fragments or small pieces.
4. (especially of ferroconcrete structures or metal objects) To undergo weathering, aging, or other wear that involves the crumbling of the substrate.
5. (transitive) To reduce, as irregular blocks of stone, to an approximately level surface by hammering.
6. (obsolete, rare) The shoulder.

Example Sentences

My father knew Bert Le Feuvre, the foreman of Griffith's yard, and there was a little heap of spawls waiting ready every night in summer after school for me to crack.

The failure of this bearing involved spall under high load.

The inspection of this bridge abutment found extensive spall.

Cobbed Ore is the ſpalled which is broke out of the ſolid large ſtones with ſledges

Drones will give an idea of the worst bits, but if it's lightly spalled then I don't know if they will necessarily see that.

When the bearing race spalled under high load, it led to the failure of the bearing.

Once the concrete had spalled extensively, the bridge could no longer pass an honest inspection.

I know it’s fun to go to a foreign city, look around at the buildings, and make grand sweeping judgements about the relative strength of civilizations over the next thousand years. But next time you find yourself gaping at a sparkling new high-rise in Shenzhen or Chongqing or Dubai, remind yourself: “This too shall spall.”

Word Forms

• spalls
• spawl
• spalling
• spalled

Synonyms for spall

Related Words

When Should You Use Spall?

Use spall when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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