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

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

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

The government wanted the court to evaluate surveillance one fragment at a time.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

One widely used approach defines microplastics as any fragment of plastic that is less than 5mm - about the width of a wedding band.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

The team also found that inactive GRK2 appears to increase the production of amyloid beta, a protein fragment widely associated with Alzheimer's disease.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026

Roche’s anti-amyloid antibody trontinemab has a fragment that mimics the natural iron-shuttling molecule known as transferrin.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

I kept waiting, hoping to see a tiny fragment of shadow break away and come running to the wall, to me.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

In late 1914, an unknown hand reassembled fragments of stained and painted glass into a composite image.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

They lie in mud, shells, ice and rock - fragments of evidence from a time when the Atlantic appears to have changed with startling speed.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Today, fragments of that image are everywhere—from the streets of Nashville to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

The team also examined rock fragments collected from an oil exploration well near the site.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

And when the first bone fragments popped up, that was it.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

The move will allow conservationists to reconnect the fragmented landscape for the first time in 60 years, allowing wildlife to move across the different areas and build stronger, more diverse and sustainable ecosystems.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

“In the United States, we don’t actually have a long-term-care system. We have a fragmented collection of ways of caring for people who require care.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Israel’s political landscape is fragmented between myriad parties, with several leaders battling to become prime minister.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

U.S. workforce-development efforts tend to be highly fragmented across state governments and federal agencies, which can be confusing for job seekers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Even if the memories are fragmented, I feel the sweetness in them.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

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

The IMF however warned that trade diversion and rerouting -- while offering short-term resilience -- are costly and risk fragmenting global supply chains.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025

Catherine says smartphones and gadgets have become a "constant distraction, fragmenting our focus" and undermining the time that families spend together.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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

Related Words

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