shard

Vocabulary Word

Definition

A 'shard' is a piece of something that is broken, like glass, pottery, or even a big task or large database being divided into smaller bits to make it manageable.

Examples in Different Contexts

In archaeology, 'shards' or 'potsherds' are pieces of broken pottery found at historical sites. An archaeologist might note, 'This shard provides evidence of early trade routes in the region.'

Practice Scenarios

Tech

Scenario:

The database is growing incredibly fast and it's becoming increasingly slow to process the data. Any ideas on how we can improve it?

Response:

Maybe we should consider sharding the database. That way, we can distribute the data into smaller databases and improve processing speed.

Business

Scenario:

Our latest project seems a little overwhelming. Don't you think breaking it into smaller tasks would make it more manageable?

Response:

That's a great idea. Let's shard the project into different phases for each team.