fragmentation
[frag-muh n-tey-shuh n]
- the act or process of fragmenting; state of being fragmented.
- the disintegration, collapse, or breakdown of norms of thought, behavior, or social relationship.
- the pieces of an exploded fragmentation bomb or grenade.
- Computers. the process, or result, of storing a file in non-contiguous sectors on a disk. As files are created, modified, deleted, etc., both the allocation of the files and the remaining free space on the disk become fragmented, slowing down data access speed on the disk.
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Origin of fragmentation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
dissolutionfragmentationwoundfissurecrackputrefactiondemoralizationdecentralizationdisplacementriftdiscontinuityopeningseveranceschismgaprentsplinterbreachcleavagecleftExamples from the Web for fragmentation
Contemporary Examples
Instead, we have irony, allusion, meta commentary, fragmentation, parody, and pastiche.
In this sense the fragmentation of the opposition could also work against Netanyahu.
A related black swan is the fragmentation of the European Union, which would also damage U.S. strategic interests.
So too is the fragmentation of the FSA when it comes to command and control.
Given the fragmentation of Syrian society, disarmament will be a major challenge.
Historical Examples
Fragmentation ensues, more social and psychological than economic in nature.
After the RainSam Vaknin
The fragmentation of a hitherto unified market is detrimental.
After the RainSam Vaknin
The second method is only a special process of fragmentation.
The fragmentation bombs were a late development in this class of work.
America's Munitions 1917-1918Benedict Crowell
The great increase in length of these cells is accompanied by the fragmentation of the originally single nucleus.
fragmentation
- the act of fragmenting or the state of being fragmented
- the disintegration of norms regulating behaviour, thought, and social relationships
- the steel particles of an exploded projectile
- (modifier) of or relating to a weapon designed to explode into many small pieces, esp as an antipersonnel weapona fragmentation bomb
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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
Word Origin and History for fragmentation
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fragmentation
[frăg′mən-tā′shən]
- The scattering of parts of a computer file across different regions of a disk. Fragmentation occurs when the operating system breaks up the file and stores it in locations left vacant by previously deleted files. The more fragmented the file, the slower it is to retrieve, since each piece of the file must be identified and located on the disk.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.