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

Massive pieces of floating ice can remain intact for years as they drift, then gradually fracture into smaller sections that may become difficult to track.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

“There’s a fracture inside the conservative movement with issues of foreign policy, and mostly Israel,” Spencer said.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

Stewart played through a stress fracture in his foot throughout his freshman season after suffering the injury in August.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

In Hadjar's case, the Frenchman suffered what Red Bull describe as a "minor fracture" while doing a boxing exercise which is part of his normal gym routine.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

"Looks like a fracture," an ambulance attendant said, feeling her right ankle.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

North London area coroner Tony Murphy ruled her cause of death was bronchopneumonia caused by fractures to her rib and sternum fractures sustained in the crash.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Over that period, they closely followed the condition of the glacier's floating ice tongue, recording the expansion of fractures and watching for signs that a major section might eventually break away.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Their arrival will end the couple’s self-imposed exile in California, but won’t necessarily heal the fractures with the rest of the family that prompted them to leave the U.K. six years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

"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

He pointed at the thin fractures that crazed the smooth black surface of the body.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

A lawyer by profession, Mundubile became the main opposition challenger after a fractured anti-government camp rallied around him through the Tonse Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties seeking to defeat Hichilema.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Thomas is replacing center fielder Andy Pages, who suffered a fractured left hand when he was hit by a pitch in Friday night’s win over Pittsburgh.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

"Hollywood is going through an incredibly hard time right now, and it's a fractured landscape," Jones says.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The closeness of the race only underscores one of El-Sayed’s challenges going ahead: reuniting a fractured party after a bitter primary campaign.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

As the glacier inched over humps and dips in the Cwm’s underlying strata, it fractured into countless vertical fissures—crevasses.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

They also revealed dislocations moving from the layer interfaces into the surrounding CoAl layers, helping explain how the material could deform without quickly fracturing.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 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

But they are fracturing over how far to go to strike a deal with the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

Are they part of a global tectonic system, produced perhaps by fracturing of an expanding or contracting planet?

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• crack
• fissure
• wound