fracture, crack, cracking
(noun) the act of cracking something
fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break
(noun) (geology) a crack in the earth’s crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; “they built it right over a geological fault”; “he studied the faulting of the earth’s crust”
fracture, break
(noun) breaking of hard tissue such as bone; “it was a nasty fracture”; “the break seems to have been caused by a fall”
fracture, break
(verb) fracture a bone of; “I broke my foot while playing hockey”
fracture
(verb) break (a bone); “She broke her clavicle”
fracture
(verb) become fractured; “The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe”
fracture
(verb) violate or abuse; “This writer really fractures the language”
fracture
(verb) interrupt, break, or destroy; “fracture the balance of power”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
fracture (plural fractures)
An instance of breaking, a place where something has broken.
(medicine) A break in bone or cartilage.
(geology) A fault or crack in a rock.
fracture (third-person singular simple present fractures, present participle fracturing, simple past and past participle fractured)
(ambitransitive) To break, or cause something to break.
(transitive, slang) To amuse (a person) greatly; to split someone's sides.
Source: Wiktionary
Frac"ture, n. Etym: [L. fractura, fr. frangere, fractum, to break: cf. F. fracture. See Fraction.]
1. The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach.
2. (Surg.)
Definition: The breaking of a bone.
3. (Min.)
Definition: The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture. Comminuted fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone is broken into several parts.
– Complicated fracture (Surg.), a fracture of the bone combined with the lesion of some artery, nervous trunk, or joint.
– Compound fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which there is an open wound from the surface down to the fracture.
– Simple fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone only is ruptured. It does not communicate with the surface by an open wound.
Syn.
– Fracture, Rupture. These words denote different kinds of breaking, according to the objects to which they are applied. Fracture is applied to hard substances; as, the fracture of a bone. Rupture is oftener applied to soft substances; as, the rupture of a blood vessel. It is also used figuratively. "To be an enemy and once to have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture" South.
Frac"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fractured (#; 135); p. pr. & vb. n.. Fracturing.] Etym: [Cf. F. fracturer.]
Definition: To cause a fracture or fractures in; to break; to burst asunder; to crack; to separate the continuous parts of; as, to fracture a bone; to fracture the skull.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
13 February 2025
(verb) cause the failure or ruin of; “His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”; “This play will either make or break the playwright”
The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
