To be broken apart or otherwise destroyed into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been smashed to smithereens by the demolition crew. The village was smashed to smithereens by the typhoon's gale-force winds.