fracture

American  

[frak-cher] / ˈfræk tʃər /

noun

fractures plural

1. the breaking of a bone, cartilage, or the like, or the resulting condition.

2. the act of breaking; state of being broken.

3. a break, breach, or split.

4. the characteristic manner of breaking.

   a material of unpredictable fracture.

5. the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral.

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verb (used with object)

fractures, present (3rd person singular) fractured, past participle, past fracturing present participle

1. to cause or to suffer a fracture in (a bone, etc.).

2. to break or crack.

   Synonyms:

   split, rupture, splinter, shatter, smash

3. Slang. to amuse highly or cause to laugh heartily; delight.

   The new comic really fractured the audience.

verb (used without object)

fractures, present (3rd person singular) fractured, past participle, past fracturing present participle

1. to become fractured; break.

   a mineral that does not fracture easily.

fracture British  

/ ˈfræktʃə /

noun

1. the act of breaking or the state of being broken

2. 1. the breaking or cracking of a bone or the tearing of a cartilage

   2. the resulting condition See also Colles' fracture comminuted fracture compound fracture greenstick fracture impacted

3. a division, split, or breach

4. mineralogy

   1. the characteristic appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral or rock

   2. the way in which a mineral or rock naturally breaks

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verb

1. to break or cause to break; split

2. to break or crack (a bone) or (of a bone) to become broken or cracked

3. to tear (a cartilage) or (of a cartilage) to become torn

fracture Scientific  

/ frăk′chər /

1. A break or rupture in bone tissue.

2. ◆ A comminuted fracture results in more than two fragments.

3. ◆ Although most fractures are caused by a direct blow or sudden, twisting force, stress fractures result from repetitive physical activity.

4. ◆ In an incomplete fracture, the fracture line does not completely traverse the bone.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fracturer
  noun
• refracture
  verb
• fracturable
  adjective
• fractural
  adjective
• postfracture
  adjective
• refracturable
  adjective
• unfractured
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fractures
  plural

Participles

• fracturing
  present
• fractured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fracture
  simple
• fractures
  simple
• have fractured
  perfect
• has fractured
  perfect
• am fracturing
  progressive
• are fracturing
  progressive
• is fracturing
  progressive
• have been fracturing
  perfect progressive
• has been fracturing
  perfect progressive

Past

• fractured
  simple
• had fractured
  perfect
• was fracturing
  progressive
• were fracturing
  progressive
• had been fracturing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fracture
  simple
• will have fractured
  perfect
• will be fracturing
  progressive
• will have been fracturing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fracture

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin frāctūra “a breach, cleft, fracture,” from frāct(us) “broken” (past participle of frangere “to break, shatter”; see also break) + -ūra -ure

Explanation

Think of something hard breaking in a crisp, snapping manner, and you've just imagined a fracture. The word is most often applied to a broken bone, but it can used to describe any sharp, sudden break of something solid. The Latin frāctus means "broken," and its descendant fracture can mean any break, though it's most often associated with a hard — maybe even brittle — material, such as a bone, a rock, or the earth’s crust. When something softer is split we say it is torn. For example, when we say someone broke an arm, we are referring to the bone, not the muscle; we'd say the muscle is torn. When someone funny "breaks us up," we might say "you fracture me!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fracture fractures fractured fracturing

However, battling through a gruesome toe injury in April's London Marathon led to an undetected stress fracture.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Thursday’s fracture was on a riveted steel pipe from 1916 that is part of the system of major arteries that deliver water from reservoirs and tanks to smaller distribution mainlines across Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Xi appears to understand the lesson from the 1960s, when Soviet heavy-handedness toward China as the “younger brother” helped fracture that earlier alliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Nigeria has been fighting a jihadist conflict that over the years has seen armed Islamist groups spread and fracture outside their strongholds in the northeast.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

Now it made a noise in its throat like the crunching of bones or the sudden fracture of ice underfoot.

From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye

"People are coming in with burns and fractures from being trapped under objects due to the earthquake, and ambulances are constantly bringing in injured people," NHK quoted one hospital employee as saying.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

But there were no obvious bone fractures, open wounds or visible parasites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

BBC Radio London presenter Jo Good has returned to her show two weeks after suffering four fractures to her face in the Bedfordshire train crash.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Management of osteopenia typically focuses on slowing down or preventing further bone loss and reducing the risk of fractures.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

The twice-tough glass of the drench spiderwebbed into a thousand fractures, and I closed my eyes just as it burst.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

That fractured largely along timing and the percentage cut owed to Roh.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

But the warehouse club has long been the one thing our fractured country agrees is good.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Seismic waves tend to slow down when they pass through rocks that are hotter, less rigid, fractured, or chemically different from typical mantle material.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Faye and Sonko came to power together in 2024 on the promise of sweeping reforms, but their alliance has recently fractured, fuelling political uncertainty in the country.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Captain Fitzpatrick grabbed a rope and swung down through the fire to the main roof below, where he lay with a fractured leg and internal injuries, half his huge mustache burned away.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Burning natural gas also causes significant air pollution in the form of nitric oxides, sulfur, mercury and particulates, while hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," can contaminate ground water supplies.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Tower Optical’s viewers narrow attention instead of fracturing it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

Asian countries are rationing fuel, governments are emptying their crude-oil stockpiles, airlines are canceling thousands of flights, and Middle East alliances are fracturing.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

Reagan amid the tumult and tectonic fracturing of the 1960s Civil Rights and Free Speech movements.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

There’s a ship leaving the harbor, its whistle resigned as an abbot in prayer, fracturing the dusk.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Related Words

• crack
• fissure
• wound