fracture
the breaking of a bone, cartilage, or the like, or the resulting condition.: Compare comminuted fracture, complete fracture, compound fracture, greenstick fracture, simple fracture.
the act of breaking; state of being broken.
a break, breach, or split.
the characteristic manner of breaking: a material of unpredictable fracture.
the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral.
to cause or to suffer a fracture in (a bone, etc.).
to break or crack.
Slang. to amuse highly or cause to laugh heartily; delight: The new comic really fractured the audience.
to become fractured; break: a mineral that does not fracture easily.
Origin of fracture
1Other words for fracture
Other words from fracture
- 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, re·frac·tured, re·frac·tur·ing.
- un·frac·tured, adjective
Words Nearby fracture
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fracture in a sentence
Those small fractures allow the blades to absorb impacts without completely snapping, explains Jesus Rivera.
The diabolical ironclad beetle is nearly unsquishable | Maria Temming | November 23, 2020 | Science News For StudentsBrees believes that the fractures on his left side occurred during the game against the Buccaneers two weeks ago and that those on his right side came in last week’s game against the 49ers.
AFC South thrives and the Steelers stay unbeaten in NFL Week 11 | Cindy Boren, Mark Maske, Des Bieler | November 23, 2020 | Washington PostShifting to point-of-care imaging also frees up CAT scanners for essential uses such as identifying bone fractures, tumors or cancers.
How Fujifilm pivoted fast to capture a key piece of the COVID treatment market | Shawn Tully | November 21, 2020 | FortuneBoth are to miss significant time, Garoppolo with an ankle injury and Kittle with a foot fracture.
Ravaged by injuries and coronavirus issues, the 49ers had little chance against the Packers | Mark Maske | November 6, 2020 | Washington PostThose small, healable fractures allow the blades to absorb impacts without completely snapping, explains Jesus Rivera, an engineer at UC Irvine.
The diabolical ironclad beetle can survive getting run over by a car. Here’s how | Maria Temming | October 21, 2020 | Science News
"My wife and I have been married for nineteen years," says Palmer, mulling the stress-fracture in his family life.
Facebook has—to fracture an old phrase—just closed the barn door after a billion cows already departed the premises.
And the truth is, I got way more opportunities out of Half Nelson than I did out of fracture.
Ms. Kuang suffered multiple injuries, including a skull fracture, and two and a half months later she still has trouble walking.
And contemporaneous observers predicted that South Africa would fracture, that a civil war would roil for the next decade.
Nelson Mandela Was Undeniably Great But He Doesn’t Need a Halo | Michael Moynihan | December 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTVery compact and fine-grained reddish granular quartz, with a glistening lustre, and flat conchoidal fracture.
When the sound is over, he may not be able to see a trace of the fracture, which at first is very narrow.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerThe parts barely touched each other, though in cases of human fracture the bones sometimes get drawn past.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurIt was no comminuted fracture I had to deal with, but a very simple case of simple fracture.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurOne of the projections of the Little Douvre had made a fracture in the starboard side of the hull.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
British Dictionary definitions for fracture
/ (ˈfræktʃə) /
the act of breaking or the state of being broken
the breaking or cracking of a bone or the tearing of a cartilage
the resulting condition: See also Colles' fracture, comminuted fracture, compound fracture, greenstick fracture, impacted (def. 2)
a division, split, or breach
mineralogy
the characteristic appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral or rock
the way in which a mineral or rock naturally breaks
to break or cause to break; split
to break or crack (a bone) or (of a bone) to become broken or cracked
to tear (a cartilage) or (of a cartilage) to become torn
Origin of fracture
1Derived forms of fracture
- fracturable, adjective
- fractural, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for fracture
[ frăk′chər ]
A break or rupture in bone tissue.♦ A comminuted fracture results in more than two fragments.♦ Although most fractures are caused by a direct blow or sudden, twisting force, stress fractures result from repetitive physical activity.♦ In an incomplete fracture, the fracture line does not completely traverse the bone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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