fracture

Noun

• the act of cracking something

• (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
    

• breaking of hard tissue such as bone
  • it was a nasty fracture
    
  • the break seems to have been caused by a fall
    

Verb

• fracture a bone of
  • I broke my foot while playing hockey
    

• break (a bone)
  • She broke her clavicle
    

• become fractured
  • The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe
    

• break into pieces
  • The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle
    

• interrupt, break, or destroy
  • fracture the balance of power
    

• violate or abuse
  • This writer really fractures the language
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  crack , cracking , fault , faulting , geological fault , shift , break