fragment

American  

[frag-muhnt, frag-muhnt, -ment, frag-ment] / ˈfræg mənt, ˈfræg mənt, -mɛnt, frægˈmɛnt /

noun

• fragments
  plural

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.

3. an odd piece, bit, or scrap.

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verb (used without object)

• fragments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fragmented,
  past participle,  past
• fragmenting
  present participle

1. to collapse or break into fragments; disintegrate.

   The chair fragmented under his weight.

verb (used with object)

• fragments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fragmented,
  past participle,  past
• fragmenting
  present participle

1. to break (something) into pieces or fragments; cause to disintegrate.

   Outside influences soon fragmented the Mayan culture.

2. to divide into fragments; disunify.

3. 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.

fragment British  

noun

1. a piece broken off or detached

   fragments of rock

2. an incomplete piece; portion

   fragments of a novel

3. a scrap; morsel; bit

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verb

1. to break or cause to break into fragments

Usage

What does fragment mean? A fragment is a piece that has been broken off of or detached from something else. Fragment most commonly refers to a part that has broken off rather than one that has been separated gently or intentionally, as in The vase smashed into a million fragments. A bone fragment is a (usually small) piece that has been chipped off from a bone. Fragment is also used to refer to a part or portion of something that is incomplete or isolated from the whole, such as a fragment of a movie or piece of music. Sometimes, fragment just means a piece, bit, or scrap (regardless of whether it has been removed from a larger part). As a verb, fragment can mean to break into pieces or disintegrate, as in The empire fragmented into multiple states after the emperor’s death. It can also mean to cause to break into pieces or disintegrate. Less commonly, it can mean to divide into fragments. Fragment is also used as a verb in a much more specific way in the context of computers, in which it means to store data files in a way that breaks them up. The opposite of this sense of fragment is defragment—to bringing the parts of the files back together. The word fragment is used in the formation of many related words, including adjectives, nouns, and verbs. The adjective fragmented describes things that have been broken into fragments or things that are or have been disorganized or disunified in some way. The adjective fragmentary means consisting of or reduced to fragments—disconnected or incomplete, as in fragmentary evidence. Fragmentation is the process of breaking into fragments. The verb fragmentize can mean to break something into fragments or separate it into parts, as in They’re going to fragmentize the corporation into several companies. It can also mean for something to break into fragments (without someone doing the fragmentizing). Example: The pirate captain tore the map into fragments, placing the pieces into separate bottles and scattering them across the seven seas.

Synonym Usage

See part.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fragments
  plural

Participles

• fragmenting
  present
• fragmented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fragment
  simple
• fragments
  simple
• have fragmented
  perfect
• has fragmented
  perfect
• am fragmenting
  progressive
• are fragmenting
  progressive
• is fragmenting
  progressive
• have been fragmenting
  perfect progressive
• has been fragmenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• fragmented
  simple
• had fragmented
  perfect
• was fragmenting
  progressive
• were fragmenting
  progressive
• had been fragmenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fragment
  simple
• will have fragmented
  perfect
• will be fragmenting
  progressive
• will have been fragmenting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of fragment

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

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Explanation

A fragment is a small piece that’s come off a larger whole, and to fragment is to break. If your teacher writes "frag" on your paper, you've got an incomplete sentence. Fragment, meaning "a tiny, brittle shard," first appeared as a noun and later as a verb. That afternoon you hacked away at the fireplace in your parents’ living room in search of secret treasure as a child? Those dusty chunks of brick you scattered all over their shag carpet were fragments of a once-intact wall, and a happier time before you were grounded. Not only did you cause physical damage that day, but you also fragmented their trust in you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fragment fragments fragmented fragmenting

By measuring how different solid rocks slow down and fragment during atmospheric entry, scientists can better understand the processes that govern these potentially dangerous asteroid airbursts.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

Front-runner “La Bola Negra” weaves together the fragment of an iconic poet’s real-life, unfinished final play with another author’s play about the death of that poet’s real-life lover.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

"This phenomenon is one possible explanation for the discovery of a large metal fragment in a palm oil plantation in Sampit," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Instead, once enough algae entered the bleached fragment, they reproduced rapidly inside their new host and restored its energy supply.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

The political consensus that had held together during Washington’s first term, and had then begun to fragment into Federalist and Republican camps over the Whiskey Rebellion and Jay’s Treaty, broke down completely in 1797.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Revealing fragments of this information to the public should improve market forecasts of Fed policy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Once released into the gums, the tiny titanium fragments attract a bacterial toxin known as lipopolysaccharide, which coats their surfaces.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

The measurements allowed the scientists to distinguish different uranium oxide phases within the radioactive fragments, revealing details that had previously been inaccessible.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

The tree fragments lying in BioFiltro’s beds seemed to serve a beneficial purpose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Alertly Biff picked up fragments of his monologue.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

As Michael Cox wrote in 1983, “nothing fragmented the completeness, nothing disturbed the balance of Monty James’s personality.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

From her vantage point, the current system is fragmented with no clear authority.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Without this protein, the mitochondrial network becomes fragmented.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, home care, providing support to help people wash and dress in their own home, has become more fragmented, with a greater number of smaller providers.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

In fact, precisely because Europe was fragmented, Columbus succeeded on his fifth try in persuading one of Europe’s hundreds of princes to sponsor him.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

"By fragmenting human societies across the landscape, malaria contributed to the population structure we see today. Climate and physical barriers were not the only forces shaping where human populations could live."

From Science Daily ● May 3, 2026

Capturing a comet in the act of fragmenting is something the team had long hoped to achieve.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026

Eliot or novelists such as James Joyce, whom they viewed as fragmenting English-speaking culture and twisting tradition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

Prolonged uncertainty over trade policy is, in the Fund's view, likely to weigh on business investment decisions and cloud growth prospects, while fragmenting supply chains over the medium term.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025

When I open my eyes, the world looks slightly fractured, and it takes a minute to realize that the sun must be well up and the glasses fragmenting my vision.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

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Related Words

• bit
• chunk
• hunk
• lump
• particle
• piece
• portion
• remnant
• scrap
• shred
• sliver

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