compound fracture

American

noun

a fracture in which the broken bone is exposed through a wound in the skin.

compound fracture British

noun

a fracture in which the broken bone either pierces the skin or communicates with an open wound

"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

Etymology

Origin of compound fracture

First recorded in 1535–45

Compare meaning

How does compound-fracture compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

compound fracture vs. open fracture

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"I've been rehabbing a complicated compound fracture in my wrist and a fractured L1 vertebra in my spine," Brockhoff said on Instagram.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

Medi-Cal covers those complications just as it would pneumonia or a compound fracture.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2023

Lazio said he had a "sprain trauma of the spine" and a "compound fracture" of his right rib but that "conditions are currently good".

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2023

O’Connell was Washington’s quarterbacks coach in 2018 when Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture in his right leg with breaks to both the tibia and the fibula.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 5, 2022

Six months earlier Tamara had been badly injured in an air raid with a compound fracture to her left leg, which left her with a permanent limp.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023