fracture

[frak-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fracture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the breaking of a bone, cartilage, or the like, or the resulting condition.Compare comminuted fracture, complete fracture, compound fracture, greenstick fracture, simple fracture.

the act of breaking; state of being broken.

a break, breach, or split.

the characteristic manner of breaking: a material of unpredictable fracture.

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

verb (used with object), frac·tured, frac·tur·ing.

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

to break or crack.

Slang. to amuse highly or cause to laugh heartily; delight: The new comic really fractured the audience.

verb (used without object), frac·tured, frac·tur·ing.

to become fractured; break: a mineral that does not fracture easily.

Origin of fracture

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin frāctūra a breach, cleft, fracture, equivalent to frāct(us) (past participle of frangere to break) + -ūra -ure

Related formsfrac·tur·a·ble, adjectivefrac·tur·al, adjectivefrac·tur·er, nounpost·frac·ture, adjective, nounre·frac·tur·a·ble, adjectivere·frac·ture, verb, re·frac·tured, re·frac·tur·ing.un·frac·tured, adjective

Synonyms for fracture

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fracture ON THESAURUS.COM

7. smash, shatter, splinter, rupture, split.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fracture

wound, fissure, crack, displacement, rift, discontinuity, opening, severance, schism, gap, rent, splinter, breach, cleavage, cleft, disjunction, split, fragmentation, mutilation

Examples from the Web for fracture

Contemporary Examples of fracture

Facebook has—to fracture an old phrase—just closed the barn door after a billion cows already departed the premises.
You Can’t Have Facebook’s Best Privacy Policy
Dennis Kneale
May 23, 2014
And the truth is, I got way more opportunities out of Half Nelson than I did out of Fracture.
Rob Lowe: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful
Tricia Romano
April 8, 2014
Loss of empire—and particularly the arrival of former subjects from Asia and Africa—threatened to fracture that identity.
Take a Bow, London: The Olympics Were a Triumph
Peter Jukes
August 13, 2012
He was Tasered several times but he was still able to grab a baton from a police officer and fracture her arm.
Did Bath Salts Spark Miami’s Gruesome ‘Zombie’ Attack?
Jacqui Goddard
May 29, 2012
One never knows where or when or how they will fracture, but they invariably do.
Saudi Arabia’s Hypocritical U.S. Threat
David Keyes
September 16, 2011

Historical Examples of fracture

This pointed out to him that the wire might be sensitive to sound when in a state of fracture.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
Master Gryphus was detained in bed by the fever caused by the fracture of his arm.
The Black Tulip
Alexandre Dumas (Pere)
With new-found interest she examined the fracture, and stared at it in wonder.
The Heart of Thunder Mountain
Edfrid A. Bingham
Joe is comfortable in bed; the fracture turns out not to be a bad one.
Jack Hinton
Charles James Lever
When you have done this the deformity will indicate the location of the fracture.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for fracture

fracture

noun

the act of breaking or the state of being broken

the breaking or cracking of a bone or the tearing of a cartilage
the resulting conditionSee also Colles' fracture, comminuted fracture, compound fracture, greenstick fracture, impacted (def. 2)

a division, split, or breach

mineralogy

the characteristic appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral or rock
the way in which a mineral or rock naturally breaks

verb

to break or cause to break; split

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

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

Derived Formsfracturable, adjectivefractural, adjective

Word Origin for fracture

C15: from Old French, from Latin fractūra, from frangere to break

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

Word Origin and History for fracture

early 15c., "a breaking of a bone," from Middle French fracture (14c.), from Latin fractura "a breach, break, cleft," from fractus, past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction).

1610s (implied in fractured), from fracture (n.). Related: Fracturing.

fracture in Medicine

fracture

[frăk′chər]

n.

The act or process of breaking.

A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.

v.

To cause to break.

fracture in Science

fracture

[frăk′chər]

A break or rupture in bone tissue.♦ A comminuted fracture results in more than two fragments.♦ Although most fractures are caused by a direct blow or sudden, twisting force, stress fractures result from repetitive physical activity.♦ In an incomplete fracture, the fracture line does not completely traverse the bone.