fracture

[frak-cher]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

fractured, fracturing 

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)

fractured, fracturing 

1. to become fractured; break.

   a mineral that does not fracture easily.

fracture

/ 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

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

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracture¹

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”; break ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of fracture¹

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

Example Sentences

Marking 25 years of EU-African Union relations, the summit came on the heels of a G20 meeting in South Africa where a US boycott underscored geopolitical fractures.

Read more on Barron's

Instead of relying on photosynthesis, they depend on chemical reactions that occur when water moves through fractured rock.

Read more on Science Daily

The seventh gathering of its kind, the two-day Angola summit comes on the heels of a G20 meeting in South Africa where a US boycott underscored geopolitical fractures.

Read more on Barron's

The ensemble feels like a real, fractured unit that shares unspoken arrangements and lifelong knowledge of one another that doesn’t need to be verbalized to be understood.

Read more on Salon

The observations indicate that the asteroid has a bright surface and is probably a solid piece of rock, possibly originating from a fractured planet or another asteroid.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• crack 
• fissure 
• wound