fracture

[ frak-cher ]

noun

1. the breaking of a bone, cartilage, or the like, or the resulting condition. Compare comminuted fracture, complete fracture, compound fracture, greenstick fracture, simple fracture.
2. the act of breaking; state of being broken.
3. a break, breach, or split.
4. the characteristic manner of breaking:

   a material of unpredictable fracture.

5. the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral.

verb (used with object)

, frac·tured, frac·tur·ing.

1. to cause or to suffer a fracture in (a bone, etc.).
2. to break or crack.

   Synonyms: split, rupture, splinter, shatter, smash

3. Slang. to amuse highly or cause to laugh heartily; delight:

   The new comic really fractured the audience.

verb (used without object)

, frac·tured, frac·tur·ing.

1. to become fractured; break:

   a mineral that does not fracture easily.

fracture

/ ˈfræktʃə /

noun

1. the act of breaking or the state of being broken
2. 1. the breaking or cracking of a bone or the tearing of a cartilage
   2. the resulting condition See also Colles' fracture comminuted fracture compound fracture greenstick fracture impacted
3. a division, split, or breach
4. mineralogy
   1. the characteristic appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral or rock
   2. the way in which a mineral or rock naturally breaks

verb

1. to break or cause to break; split
2. to break or crack (a bone) or (of a bone) to become broken or cracked
3. to tear (a cartilage) or (of a cartilage) to become torn

fracture

/ frăk′chər /

1. A break or rupture in bone tissue.
2. ◆ A comminuted fracture results in more than two fragments.
3. ◆ Although most fractures are caused by a direct blow or sudden, twisting force, stress fractures result from repetitive physical activity.
4. ◆ In an incomplete fracture , the fracture line does not completely traverse the bone.

Derived Forms

• ˈfracturable, adjective
• ˈfractural, adjective

Other Words From

• fractur·a·ble adjective
• fractur·al adjective
• fractur·er noun
• post·fracture adjective noun
• re·fractur·a·ble adjective
• re·fracture verb refractured refracturing
• un·fractured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracture¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin frāctūra “a breach, cleft, fracture,” from frāct(us) “broken” (past participle of frangere “to break, shatter”; break ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracture¹

C15: from Old French, from Latin fractūra , from frangere to break

Example Sentences

"My wife and I have been married for nineteen years," says Palmer, mulling the stress-fracture in his family life.

From The Daily Beast

Facebook has—to fracture an old phrase—just closed the barn door after a billion cows already departed the premises.

From The Daily Beast

And the truth is, I got way more opportunities out of Half Nelson than I did out of Fracture.

From The Daily Beast

Ms. Kuang suffered multiple injuries, including a skull fracture, and two and a half months later she still has trouble walking.

From The Daily Beast

And contemporaneous observers predicted that South Africa would fracture, that a civil war would roil for the next decade.

From The Daily Beast

Very compact and fine-grained reddish granular quartz, with a glistening lustre, and flat conchoidal fracture.

From Project Gutenberg

When the sound is over, he may not be able to see a trace of the fracture, which at first is very narrow.

From Project Gutenberg

The parts barely touched each other, though in cases of human fracture the bones sometimes get drawn past.

From Project Gutenberg

It was no comminuted fracture I had to deal with, but a very simple case of simple fracture.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the projections of the Little Douvre had made a fracture in the starboard side of the hull.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• crack
• fissure
• wound