fragment

[ noun frag-muhnt; verb frag-muhnt, -ment, frag-ment ]

noun

1. a part broken off or detached:

   scattered fragments of the broken vase.

2. an isolated, unfinished, or incomplete part:

   She played a fragment of her latest composition.

3. an odd piece, bit, or scrap.

verb (used without object)

1. to collapse or break into fragments; disintegrate:

   The chair fragmented under his weight.

verb (used with object)

1. to break (something) into pieces or fragments; cause to disintegrate:

   Outside influences soon fragmented the Mayan culture.

2. to divide into fragments; disunify.
3. Computers. to store (data from a file) in noncontiguous sectors on a disk drive, splitting the file into smaller pieces and breaking up available free space on the disk. Compare defragment ( def ).

fragment

noun

1. a piece broken off or detached

   fragments of rock

2. an incomplete piece; portion

   fragments of a novel

3. a scrap; morsel; bit

verb

1. to break or cause to break into fragments

Word History and Origins

Origin of fragment¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin fragmentum “a broken piece, remnant,” equivalent to frag- (stem of frangere “to break, shatter” ) + -mentum noun suffix; break, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of fragment¹

C15: from Latin fragmentum , from frangere to break

Synonym Study

See part.

Example Sentences

He held up a fist-size chunk of sandy brown rock embedded with a dark, ridged oblong shape, unmistakably a plant or shell fragment.

From Outside Online

We humans all have an inborn tendency to create a plausible story out of memory fragments.

From Popular-Science

I still get bloody noses at random times, and will for the rest of my life — a bone fragment that didn’t heal properly is just kind of floating in there.

From Ozy

Even the medium of streaming is being shattered into ever tinier fragments by the likes of Instagram, Quibi and TikTok.

From Washington Blade

Sometimes these rock fragments, floating in outer space, enter Earth’s atmosphere, where gravity pulls them in.

From Singularity Hub 

The fragment is written in Coptic, not Greek, and is not actually from the Bible, as the title would indicate.

From The Daily Beast

It really is startling that not one fragment of an airplane that weighed 250 tons has yet turned up.

From The Daily Beast

If it falls apart, then the “Caliphate” will almost certainly fragment, too.

From The Daily Beast

A fragment penetrated her shoulder, missing a major artery by an inch.

From The Daily Beast

Day 50 of the search for Flight MH370 has come and gone without one fragment of the Boeing 777 being found.

From The Daily Beast

It is undoubtedly true if we look at any little portion of business activity taken as a fragment by itself.

From Project Gutenberg

It is somewhat curious that, previous to the publication of Christabel, there appeared a conclusion to that splendid fragment.

From Project Gutenberg

Fragment, apparently from a columnar mass, of a stone intermediate between clink-stone and compact felspar.

From Project Gutenberg

The author of this fragment writes in the style which seems to belong to the primitive ages.

From Project Gutenberg

The independent Moquis are a fragment of the ancient ruling race of New Mexico.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• disintegrate
• splinter

More About Fragment

What does fragment mean?

A fragment is a piece that has been broken off of or detached from something else.

Fragment most commonly refers to a part that has broken off rather than one that has been separated gently or intentionally, as in The vase smashed into a million fragments. A bone fragment is a (usually small) piece that has been chipped off from a bone.

Fragment is also used to refer to a part or portion of something that is incomplete or isolated from the whole, such as a fragment of a movie or piece of music.

Sometimes, fragment just means a piece, bit, or scrap (regardless of whether it has been removed from a larger part).

As a verb, fragment can mean to break into pieces or disintegrate, as in The empire fragmented into multiple states after the emperor’s death. It can also mean to cause to break into pieces or disintegrate. Less commonly, it can mean to divide into fragments.

Fragment is also used as a verb in a much more specific way in the context of computers, in which it means to store data files in a way that breaks them up. The opposite of this sense of fragment is defragment—to bringing the parts of the files back together.

The word fragment is used in the formation of many related words, including adjectives, nouns, and verbs.

The adjective fragmented describes things that have been broken into fragments or things that are or have been disorganized or disunified in some way. The adjective fragmentary means consisting of or reduced to fragments—disconnected or incomplete, as in fragmentary evidence.

Fragmentation is the process of breaking into fragments. The verb fragmentize can mean to break something into fragments or separate it into parts, as in They’re going to fragmentize the corporation into several companies. It can also mean for something to break into fragments (without someone doing the fragmentizing).

Example: The pirate captain tore the map into fragments, placing the pieces into separate bottles and scattering them across the seven seas.

Where does fragment come from?

The first records of the word fragment come from around 1400. It ultimately comes from the Latin fragmentum, meaning “a broken piece,” from the verb frangere, meaning “to break.” The word fragile also comes from frangere.

Fragment is similar to other words that mean pieces of a whole, such as part, piece, section, slice, or portion. When it’s used in the context of physical things, fragment usually refers to a piece that has been roughly broken off, often resulting in rough edges or an irregular shape. Such a fragment is usually a small piece and is often useless by itself.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to fragment?

• fragmented (past tense verb, adjective)
• fragmentary (adjective)
• fragmental (adjective)

What are some synonyms for fragment?

• bit
• scrap
• shred
• part
• piece
• disintegrate
• divide
• splinter
• break
• fragmentate
• fragmentize

What are some words that share a root or word element with fragment? 

• fragmentation
• fragmentate
• fragmentize
• fragmentized
• defragment
• fragile

What are some words that often get used in discussing fragment?

• bone
• shard
• broken
• several
• multiple
• split

How is fragment used in real life?

Fragment is a common word that’s used in all kinds of context involving parts or portions of things. It’s perhaps most commonly used to refer to small, broken pieces of physical objects.

So apparently I broke my leg in August and have been walking around with bone fragments in my ankle ever since.
😬

— Simon Gilbert (@TheSimonGilbert) February 3, 2020

Line of thunderstorms is starting to fragment and weaken but still moving eastwards pic.twitter.com/KhxJ6BEeQV

— Cecilia Daly (@WeatherCee) August 25, 2016

Humans are fascinating. Each, individual human creature is a galaxy of thought, experience, and emotion. You could dedicate your entire time here on earth to exploring just a fragment of one of these “galaxies” and your life would not be wasted.

— john mark (already voted so don't talk to me) (@johnmarkmc) May 4, 2020

 

Try using fragment!

Which of the following words is a synonym of fragment?

A. part
B. piece
C. portion
D. all of the above