# sharding

CEFR C2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sharding
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Definition

a way of splitting a large database into smaller, faster pieces. Each piece, called a shard, is stored on a different server to help the system handle more work.

For teachers: a database architecture pattern that involves horizontal partitioning of data across multiple independent servers or nodes. Each partition, or shard, contains a subset of the total dataset to improve scalability and performance.

## Examples

- The company used sharding to manage their massive user database.
- As the application grew to millions of active users, the engineering team implemented sharding to prevent a single database server from becoming a bottleneck.
- While sharding significantly increases the write throughput of a distributed system, it introduces substantial complexity regarding cross-shard queries and data consistency across the network.

## Usage notes

- Commonly used in the context of distributed systems and database administration.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.