1. Breaking of hard tissue such as bone
   "it was a nasty fracture";
   - break
    
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 fracture";
   - fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, break
    
3. The act of cracking something
   "The fracture of the ice sheet was visible from space";
   - crack, cracking
    
4. A break in friendly relations or unity
   "The fracture between the two allies widened"

1. Become fractured
   "The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe"
    
2. Break into pieces
   "The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle"
    
3. Interrupt, break, or destroy
   "fracture the balance of power"
    
4. Violate or abuse
   "This writer really fractures the language"

Derived forms: fractured, fractures, fracturing

Type of: abuse, break, breakage, breaking, cleft, come apart, crack, crevice, destroy, destruct, fall apart, fissure, harm, hurt, injury, misuse, pervert, scissure, separate, spifflicate [Brit, informal], spiflicate [Brit, informal], split up, trauma, uncreate [literary]

Encyclopedia: Fracture