Library / English Dictionary

FRACTURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of cracking something

Synonyms:

crack; cracking; fracture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("fracture" is a kind of...):

break; breakage; breaking (the act of breaking something)

Derivation:

fracture (fracture a bone of)

fracture (break (a bone))

fracture (break into pieces)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

Example:

he studied the faulting of the earth's crust

Synonyms:

break; fault; faulting; fracture; geological fault; shift

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("fracture" is a kind of...):

cleft; crack; crevice; fissure; scissure (a long narrow opening)

Meronyms (parts of "fracture"):

fault line ((geology) line determined by the intersection of a geological fault and the earth's surface)

Domain category:

geology (a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fracture"):

inclined fault (a geological fault in which one side is above the other)

strike-slip fault (a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally)

Instance hyponyms:

Denali Fault (a major open geological fault in Alaska)

San Andreas Fault (a major geological fault in California; runs from San Diego to San Francisco; the source of serious earthquakes)

Derivation:

fracture (break into pieces)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Breaking of hard tissue such as bone

Example:

the break seems to have been caused by a fall

Synonyms:

break; fracture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("fracture" is a kind of...):

harm; hurt; injury; trauma (any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fracture"):

comminuted fracture (fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed)

complete fracture (break involving the entire width of the bone)

compound fracture; open fracture (bone fracture associated with lacerated soft tissue or an open wound)

compression fracture (fracture in which the bone collapses (especially in short bones such as vertebrae))

depressed fracture (fracture of the skull where the bone is pushed in)

displaced fracture (fracture in which the two ends of the broken bone are separated from one another)

fatigue fracture; stress fracture (fracture resulting from excessive activity rather than a specific injury)

capillary fracture; hairline fracture (a fracture without separation of the fragments and the line of the break being very thin)

incomplete fracture (fracture that does not go across the entire width of the bone)

impacted fracture (fracture in which one broken end is wedged into the other broken end)

closed fracture; simple fracture (an uncomplicated fracture in which the broken bones to not pierce the skin)

Derivation:

fracture (fracture a bone of)

fracture (break (a bone))

fracture (become fractured)

fracture (break into pieces)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fracture a bone of

Example:

I broke my foot while playing hockey

Synonyms:

break; fracture

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "fracture" is one way to...):

injure; wound (cause injuries or bodily harm to)

Verb group:

fracture (break (a bone))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he fracture his foot?

Derivation:

fracture (the act of cracking something)

fracture (breaking of hard tissue such as bone)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Break (a bone)

Example:

She broke her clavicle

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Verb group:

break; fracture (fracture a bone of)

fracture (become fractured)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fracture"):

refracture (break (a bone) that was previously broken but mended in an abnormal way)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fracture (the act of cracking something)

fracture (breaking of hard tissue such as bone)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become fractured

Example:

The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "fracture" is one way to...):

break; break off; discontinue; stop (prevent completion)

Verb group:

fracture (break (a bone))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

The wooden sticks fracture

Derivation:

fracture (breaking of hard tissue such as bone)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Violate or abuse

Example:

This writer really fractures the language

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "fracture" is one way to...):

abuse; misuse; pervert (change the inherent purpose or function of something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Break into pieces

Example:

The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "fracture" is one way to...):

break (destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence examples:

The girls fracture the wooden sticks

These glasses fracture easily

Derivation:

fracture (the act of cracking something)

fracture ((geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other)

fracture (breaking of hard tissue such as bone)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Interrupt, break, or destroy

Example:

fracture the balance of power

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "fracture" is one way to...):

destroy; destruct (do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

Grafts can also repair bone loss caused by some types of fractures or cancers.

(Bone Grafts, NIH)

A pathologic bone fracture due to osteoporosis.

(Osteoporotic Fracture, NCI Thesaurus)

Excessive formation of dense trabecular bone leading to pathological fractures, OSTEITIS, SPLENOMEGALY with infarct, ANEMIA, and extramedullary hemopoiesis (HEMATOPOIESIS, EXTRAMEDULLARY).

(Osteopetrosis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Patients present with bone and muscle pain, severe muscle weakness, fractures, gait disturbances, skeletal deformity, height loss, and slow growth.

(Phosphaturic Mesenchymal Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

A bone marrow-based plasma cell neoplasm characterized by a serum monoclonal protein and skeletal destruction with osteolytic lesions, pathological fractures, bone pain, hypercalcemia, and anemia.

(Plasma cell myeloma, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)

“Ay,” continued Utterson, “and the fractures, too, are rusty.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A type of osteogenesis imperfecta that is characterized by fractures and hearing loss.

(Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type IV, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by bone deformities, multiple fractures, underdeveloped lungs, and often death during or after birth due to respiratory abnormalities.

(Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type II, NCI Thesaurus)

It manifests with spontaneous fractures, respiratory distress, and growth developmental delays.

(Neonatal Rickets, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called: Skull Injuries, Cranial Injuries, Cranial injuries, Skull fractures, Skull injuries

(Head Injuries, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)