fracture : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: fracture	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for fracture
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
fracture n breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall" Synonym(s): fracture, break (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" Synonym(s): fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break the act of cracking something Synonym(s): fracture, crack, cracking v violate or abuse; "This writer really fractures the language" interrupt, break, or destroy; "fracture the balance of power" break into pieces; "The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle" become fractured; "The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe" break (a bone); "She broke her clavicle" fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey" Synonym(s): fracture, break
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fracture \Frac"ture\ (?; 135), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fractured} (#; 135); p. pr. & vb. n.. {Fracturing}.] [Cf. F. fracturer.] To cause a fracture or fractures in; to break; to burst asunder; to crack; to separate the continuous parts of; as, to fracture a bone; to fracture the skull.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fracture \Frac"ture\ (?; 135), n. [L. fractura, fr. frangere, fractum, to break: cf. F. fracture. See {Fraction}.] 1. The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach. 2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone. 3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture. {Comminuted fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone is broken into several parts. {Complicated fracture} (Surg.), a fracture of the bone combined with the lesion of some artery, nervous trunk, or joint. {Compound fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which there is an open wound from the surface down to the fracture. {Simple fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone only is ruptured. It does not communicate with the surface by an open wound. Syn: {Fracture}, {Rupture}. Usage: These words denote different kinds of breaking, according to the objects to which they are applied. Fracture is applied to hard substances; as, the fracture of a bone. Rupture is oftener applied to soft substances; as, the rupture of a blood vessel. It is also used figuratively. [bd]To be an enemy and once to have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture?[b8] --South.