rupture
Americannoun
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the act of breaking or bursting.
The flood led to the rupture of the dam.
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the state of being broken or burst.
a rupture in the earth's surface.
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a breach of harmonious, friendly, or peaceful relations.
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Pathology. hernia, especially abdominal hernia.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of breaking or bursting or the state of being broken or burst
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a breach of peaceful or friendly relations
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pathol
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the breaking or tearing of a bodily structure or part
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another word for hernia
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verb
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to break or burst or cause to break or burst
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to affect or be affected with a rupture or hernia
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to undergo or cause to undergo a breach in relations or friendship
Other Word Forms
- nonrupturable adjective
- nonrupture noun
- rupturable adjective
- unrupturable adjective
- unruptured adjective
Etymology
Origin of rupture
1475–85; < Latin ruptūra (noun), equivalent to rupt ( us ) (past participle of rumpere to break) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
A rupture is a break or tear in something that pulls it apart. A rupture can be a literal break, like the one that happens in, say, a gas line, or it can be more figurative, as in a friendship or a business deal. The oil spill was less of a spill than it was a rupture: the line leading to the well was severed, allowing the oil to flow into the ocean. Rupture works as both a noun and a verb. You can rupture the silence by screaming your head off, and any number of events in Star Trek can cause a rupture in the space-time continuum.
Vocabulary lists containing rupture
Make a Break for It: Rupt
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"Mammoth Shakes and Monster Waves" Vocabulary from the informational text
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 2–October 8, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Navigating that kind of rupture would take poise, flexibility, and tact.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
Previous studies based on seismic recordings suggested that earthquakes like this may involve a pulse-like rupture and slightly curved motion along the fault.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
On Jan. 30, Vonn suffered a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, with meniscus and bone damage, when she crashed during a downhill race in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
The toxic turn between OpenAI and Anthropic fuels distrust and threatens to further rupture consensus around still-evolving safety practices.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
The Sunday before he was to officially announce his rupture with Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X came to my home to discuss his plans and give me some necessary documentation.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
