fracture
- 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.
- 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.
- to become fractured; break: a mineral that does not fracture easily.
Origin of fracture
Synonyms for fracture
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for fracture
wound, fissure, crack, displacement, rift, discontinuity, opening, severance, schism, gap, rent, splinter, breach, cleavage, cleft, disjunction, split, fragmentation, mutilationExamples 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.
And the truth is, I got way more opportunities out of Half Nelson than I did out of Fracture.
Loss of empire—and particularly the arrival of former subjects from Asia and Africa—threatened to fracture that identity.
He was Tasered several times but he was still able to grab a baton from a police officer and fracture her arm.
One never knows where or when or how they will fracture, but they invariably do.
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 TelegraphJ. Munro
Master Gryphus was detained in bed by the fever caused by the fracture of his arm.
The Black TulipAlexandre Dumas (Pere)
With new-found interest she examined the fracture, and stared at it in wonder.
The Heart of Thunder MountainEdfrid A. Bingham
Joe is comfortable in bed; the fracture turns out not to be a bad one.
Jack HintonCharles James Lever
When you have done this the deformity will indicate the location of the fracture.
Boy Scouts HandbookBoy Scouts of America
fracture
- 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
- 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
Word Origin for fracture
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
(frăk′chər)- The act or process of breaking.
- A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.
- To cause to break.
fracture
- 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.