the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral.
verb (used with object), fractured, fracturing.
6.
to cause or to suffer a fracture in (a bone, etc.).
7.
to break or crack.
8.
Slang. to amuse highly or cause to laugh heartily; delight:
The new comic really fractured the audience.
verb (used without object), fractured, fracturing.
9.
to become fractured; break:
a mineral that does not fracture easily.
Origin
1375-1425;late Middle English < Middle French < Latinfrāctūra a breach, cleft, fracture, equivalent to frāct(us) (past participle of frangere to break) + -ūra-ure
Related forms
fracturable, adjective
fractural, adjective
fracturer, noun
postfracture, adjective, noun
refracturable, adjective
refracture, verb, refractured, refracturing.
unfractured, adjective
Synonyms
7. smash, shatter, splinter, rupture, split.
Examples from the web for fracture
Hip fracture surgery is done to repair a break in the upper part of the thigh bone.
Once you lose your footing it is easy to fall and break your back, your tongue, your head or fracture your bones.
Differences and tensions both drive and fracture the movement.
To recover the heat, the project's operators would have needed to fracture the rock and circulate water through it.
In general, include the joint above and below the fracture in the splint.
The latest work suggests that smoking robs the bones of their mineral density, making them more likely to fracture.
Often follows a fall with fracture that needs surgical repair.
Trying to fracture society into different groups that cannot easily communicate with each other is counterproductive.
Another way sinkholes can form is if water enlarges a natural fracture in a limestone bedrock layer.
Medical science has known for some time that the direction of a bone fracture depends on how quickly the bone is compressed.
British Dictionary definitions for fracture
fracture
/ˈfræktʃə/
noun
1.
the act of breaking or the state of being broken
2.
the breaking or cracking of a bone or the tearing of a cartilage
the characteristic appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral or rock
the way in which a mineral or rock naturally breaks
verb
5.
to break or cause to break; split
6.
to break or crack (a bone) or (of a bone) to become broken or cracked
7.
to tear (a cartilage) or (of a cartilage) to become torn
Derived Forms
fracturable, adjective fractural, adjective
Word Origin
C15: from Old French, from Latin fractūra, from frangere to break
Word Origin and History for fracture
n.
early 15c., "a breaking of a bone," from Middle French fracture (14c.), from Latin fractura "a breach, break, cleft," from fractus, past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction).
v.
1610s (implied in fractured), from fracture (n.). Related: Fracturing.
fracture in Medicine
fracture frac·ture (frāk'chər) n.
The act or process of breaking.
A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.
v. To cause to break.
fracture in Science
fracture
(frāk'chər) A break or rupture in bone tissue. ◇ A comminuted fracture results in more than two fragments. ◇ Although most fractures are caused by a direct blow or sudden, twisting force, stress fractures result from repetitive physical activity. ◇ In an incomplete fracture, the fracture line does not completely traverse the bone.
Slang definitions & phrases for fracture
fracture
verb
To elicit loud laughter from; lay them in the aisles: We're a riot, hey. We play all kinds of funny stuff. We fracture the people
To evoke a strong reaction: That flips me out and fractures me, man(1940s+)