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.

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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

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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.

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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 ( see fissi-) + -ūra -ure

Explanation

A long fine crack in the surface of something is called a fissure. If you see a fissure in the ice on a frozen lake, you'll want to take off your skates and head back to the car. Fissure has its roots in the Latin word fissura, meaning a cleft or crack. If something breaks into fine cracks, you can describe the action with the verb form of fissure. For example, "She watched in horror as the earth fissured beneath her feet, recognizing the signs of an earthquake but powerless to do anything to save herself except throw herself to the ground and hang on."

Example Sentences

Fissure eruptions do not usually result in large explosions or signficicant columns of ash flying into the stratosphere, the statement said.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2022

Superior praecentral sulcus. r, Fissure of Rolando. g.s,

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various

The place of the Invention of the Sacred Cross, the Fissure in the Rock of Golgotha, the Tomb of Adam himself—are all here within a few yards' space.

From From Cornhill to Grand Cairo by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Fissure of the anus is a common local symptom of constipation.

From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson

He stated that with the aid of a powerful telescope he had discovered an immense Fissure in the Moon.

From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 26, September 24, 1870 by Various

Related Words

• cleavage
• crevice