A "shard" is a piece of broken ceramic, metal, glass, or other material. It often refers to sharp fragments that can result from the breaking of an object. Shards can vary in size and shape, and they are commonly found in archaeological sites, where they provide insights into past human activities and cultures. In the context of technology, "shard" can also refer to a method of data storage. In this case, data is divided into smaller, more manageable pieces called shards, which can be distributed across multiple servers. This approach enhances performance and scalability, especially in systems like databases and cloud computing.