fissure

American  

[fish-er] / ˈfɪʃ ər /

noun

1. a narrow opening produced by cleavage or separation of parts.

2. cleavage.

3. Anatomy. a natural division or groove in an organ, as in the brain.

---

verb (used with object)

fissured, fissuring

1. to make fissures in; cleave; split.

verb (used without object)

fissured, fissuring

1. to open in fissures; become split.

fissure British  

/ ˈfɪʃə /

noun

1. any long narrow cleft or crack, esp in a rock

2. a weakness or flaw indicating impending disruption or discord

   fissures in a decaying empire

3. anatomy a narrow split or groove that divides an organ such as the brain, lung, or liver into lobes See also sulcus

4. a small unnatural crack in the skin or mucous membrane, as between the toes or at the anus

5. a minute crack in the surface of a tooth, caused by imperfect joining of enamel during development

---

verb

1. to crack or split apart

fissure Scientific  

/ fĭsh′ər /

1. A long, narrow crack or opening in the face of a rock. Fissures are often filled with minerals of a different type from those in the surrounding rock.

---

Other Word Forms

• fissural adjective
• fissureless adjective
• subfissure noun
• superfissure noun

Etymology

Origin of fissure

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fissūra cleaving, cleft, fissure, equivalent to fiss ( us ) divided ( fissi- ) + -ūra -ure

Example Sentences

When it rains, moisture seeps into fissures in the road and weakens the asphalt, which can break apart and buckle under the weight of passing cars and trucks.

From Los Angeles Times

Potential fissures have emerged between the Italian and the club's hierarchy.

From BBC

Though most of the film is spent building up to this fissure, “Oh. What. Fun.” stumbles when Claire and her family separate.

From Salon

“Not every slave worked directly for their owner—just like in today’s complex fissured workplace, where not every employee is working directly for the employer with whom they signed an employment contract.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Perhaps the fissure should bring to mind Nordic depression, or familial misadventures in communication.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cleavage
• crevice