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

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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

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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

As the fireball descends into denser layers of the atmosphere, increasing air pressure begins to fracture the rock.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

The British number five reached the third round at the Beijing Open earlier this month in her first WTA tournament for six months, having been sidelined with a stress fracture in her back.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

One concern is the risk of a compression fracture, which is when a vertebra collapses, usually as a result of osteoporosis, according to Banner Health’s Fisher.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The attribution to Samuel is based on clues including the location of the tomb, the sumptuousness of the garment, the age of the deceased and an old fracture.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Slowly, the fracture has filled with the powder of earth and stone.

From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin

They argued that the attack left no fractures or broken skin and there was an absence of serious injuries.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Although the rocks do contain substantial pore space, the researchers found that their widespread internal fractures were equally important to understanding how they retain and release heat.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

That might make you more vulnerable to foot fractures, according to a 2023 analysis of high-stack running shoes with carbon-fiber plates published in Sports Medicine, with Tenforde as the lead author.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Older adults are also more likely to suffer fractures, while younger children are more likely to sustain head and neck injuries.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Nor is the absence of fractures and cuts on an ancient skeleton conclusive proof that the person to whom the skeleton belonged did not die a violent death.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Around mid-March, he said, a hole developed in his fractured lower right leg and a bone began protruding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

But the straight-talking 42-year-old El-Sayed pledged to help cash-strapped voters navigate America's fractured, for-profit health care system.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

It’s a body of nostalgic American hopefulness that, to a cynic, may seem hopelessly out of touch with the reality of our fractured times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Impacts could have fractured the objects and exposed fresh material, potentially changing their surface compositions and colors.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

“That was a C.I.D. man with a fractured nose. He came down here from the hospital on official business. He’s conducting an investigation.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

The adverse drug test findings that wiped out two years of Conor's career cast a long shadow, fracturing public perception and leaving unanswered questions that still follow him.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

That raised fresh concerns about the appeal of U.S. assets in a fracturing world — and one where yield is no longer hard to find.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

It didn’t explicitly say investigators believe a bird strike led to the engine fan blade fracturing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

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

Still, for a few weeks, the fracturing country united in grief over the loss of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, America’s Arctic hero.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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