fragment

[ noun frag-muhnt; verb frag-muhnt, -ment, frag-ment ]
See synonyms for: fragmentfragmentedfragmentingfragments on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a part broken off or detached: scattered fragments of the broken vase.

  2. an isolated, unfinished, or incomplete part: She played a fragment of her latest composition.

  1. an odd piece, bit, or scrap.

verb (used without object)
  1. to collapse or break into fragments; disintegrate: The chair fragmented under his weight.

verb (used with object)
  1. to break (something) into pieces or fragments; cause to disintegrate: Outside influences soon fragmented the Mayan culture.

  2. to divide into fragments; disunify.

  1. Computers. to store (data from a file) in noncontiguous sectors on a disk drive, splitting the file into smaller pieces and breaking up available free space on the disk.: Compare defragment.

Origin of fragment

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin fragmentum “a broken piece, remnant,” equivalent to frag- (stem of frangere “to break, shatter” ) + -mentum noun suffix; see origin at break,-ment

synonym study For fragment

1-3. See part.

Words Nearby fragment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fragment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fragment

fragment

noun(ˈfræɡmənt)
  1. a piece broken off or detached: fragments of rock

  2. an incomplete piece; portion: fragments of a novel

  1. a scrap; morsel; bit

verb(fræɡˈmɛnt) Also US: fragmentize (ˈfræɡmənˌtaɪz)
  1. to break or cause to break into fragments

Origin of fragment

1
C15: from Latin fragmentum, 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