Fracture

English Meaning

The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach.

1. The act or process of breaking.
2. The condition of having been broken or ruptured: "a sudden and irreparable fracture of the established order” ( W. Bruce Lincoln).
3. A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.
4. Mineralogy The characteristic manner in which a mineral breaks.
5. Mineralogy The characteristic appearance of the surface of a broken mineral.
6. Geology A crack or fault in a rock.
7. To cause to break: The impact fractured a bone.
8. To undergo a break in (a bone): He fractured his ankle in the fall.
9. To disrupt or destroy as if by breaking: fractured the delicate balance of power.
10. To abuse or misuse flagrantly, as by violating rules: ignorant writers who fracture the language.
11. Slang To cause to laugh heartily: "Jack Benny fractured audiences . . . for more than 50 years” ( Newsweek).
12. To undergo a fracture. See Synonyms at break.