From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfracturefrac‧ture1 /ˈfræktʃə $ -ər/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 MIBREAKif a bone or other hard substance fractures, or if it is fractured, it breaks or cracks The immense pressure causes the rock to fracture.fracture your leg/arm/hip etc He fractured his right leg during training.► see thesaurus at break2 if a group, country etc fractures, or if it is fractured, it divides into parts in an unfriendly way because of disagreement SYN split The opposition has been fractured by bitter disputes.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
fracture• The sight of those fracturing red pearls comforted Gao Ma.• The sluggish movements deep in the Earth eventually cause the rigid crust to fracture along great fault planes of weakness.• He fractured both his legs in the car accident.• The country has already been fractured by bitter ethnic and political clashes.• My grandmother fell down the stairs and fractured her ankle.• Ron fractured his finger in the first half of the game.• Rue du Fraise fractured his left shoulder and had to be destroyed.• The other reportedly had his skull fractured in 15 places, broken fingers and numerous stab wounds.• St Ives's leg was fractured in two places.• Lithuania fractured the Soviet Union by declaring its independence.fracturefracture2 ●○○ noun [countable] MIBREAKa crack or broken part in a bone or other hard substance a stress fracture in his left knee a hairline fracture (=very thin crack) a fractured shoulder → compound fracture, simple fracture► see thesaurus at injuryExamples from the Corpus
fracture• a hairline fracture• More elderly women than men suffer hip fractures.• Hip fractures, which especially plague older women, are the most serious fall injury for seniors.• Induced fractures or cracks occur at the borehole wall as the result of off-loading the stresses during the drilling operation.• It is only two weeks since Gough came back from a multiple fracture of the cheekbone.• X-rays showed no fractures in his leg.• The type and irregularity of fracture bears a complex relation to the breaking of bonds in directions that cut across crystallographic planes.• They argue, as others have done, that screening is appropriate because bone density is related to subsequent risk of fracture.• The geometry of the fracture is usually calculated on the basis of volume of fluid injected during the hydraulic fracture operation.• That despite a troublesome physical problem: a wrist fracture incurred on his last tour that went unnoticed for months.stress fracture• The problem is believed to be either an Achilles tendon strain or a stress fracture of the right foot.• The Rangers ace suffered a stress fracture of the right knee after a late tackle in the recent 1-1 draw at Broomfield.• Full-back Tony Clement is also out after suffering a stress fracture of the right ankle and is replaced by Mike Rayer.• Terrell Owens will play with a stress fracture in his foot.• Ratliff is expected to miss at least three more weeks with a stress fracture of the right wrist.• When I say stress fracture everybody forgets stress and focuses on fracture.• But she also suffered a second stress fracture to her tibia last season.• The most bothersome injury may be the stress fracture suffered by defensive tackle Brandon Whiting before camp began.Origin fracture2 (1500-1600) Latin fractura, from fractus; → FRACTION 