fracture

/'fræktʃə/

Thân thiện

A doctor examines an X-ray showing a fracture in a patient's arm.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A break or crack in a hard material: A fracture is a physical break, especially in a bone or other rigid substance, often resulting from stress or injury.
   • (Geology) A crack or fault in the earth's crust: In geology, a fracture refers to a break in rock where there has been displacement.

2. Verb:

   • To break or crack something hard: To cause a bone or other solid object to break.
   • To become broken or cracked: For a hard object, like a bone, to break.
   • To disrupt or destroy the continuity of something: To interrupt or damage the integrity of a system, relationship, or abstract concept.
   • To violate the standard use of something: To misuse or distort something, like language or rules.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The X-ray showed a clean fracture in his forearm.
  • The earthquake was caused by movement along a deep fracture in the tectonic plate.

• Verb:

  • He fractured his ankle during the marathon.
  • The old pipe fractured under the pressure.
  • The scandal threatened to fracture the coalition government.
  • The poet fractures grammatical conventions to create new meanings.

Advanced Usage

• "Hairline fracture": A very thin, minor crack in a bone.

  • The doctor said it was just a hairline fracture, so no cast was needed.

• "To fracture along lines of...": To break apart due to specific divisions or conflicts.

  • The society began to fracture along ethnic and religious lines.

Variants and Related Words

• Fractured (adj): Broken or cracked. Can also describe something that is divided or dysfunctional.

  • He spoke with a fractured accent.
  • They live in a fractured society.

• Fracturing (n/gerund): The process of breaking or causing to break.

  • The fracturing of the ice shelf was visible from space.

Synonyms

• Noun: Break, crack, split, fissure, fault (geology).
• Verb: Break, crack, split, shatter, disrupt.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

(Note: "Fracture" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meanings are typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Suffer a fracture": To experience a broken bone.
  • Several passengers suffered fractures in the bus accident.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of cracking something
2. (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
3. breaking of hard tissue such as bone
   • it was a nasty fracture
   • the break seems to have been caused by a fall

Verb

1. fracture a bone of
   • I broke my foot while playing hockey
2. break (a bone)
   • She broke her clavicle
3. become fractured
   • The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe
4. break into pieces
   • The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle
5. interrupt, break, or destroy
   • fracture the balance of power
6. violate or abuse
   • This writer really fractures the language

Từ đồng nghĩa

• crack
• cracking
• fault
• faulting
• geological fault
• shift
• break