fracture meaning and examples

Meaning

Fracture means a break or crack in a hard material, especially in a bone or rock. As a verb, it means to break or cause something to break.

• Noun: a break or crack (e.g., a bone fracture)
• Verb: to break (something) or cause a break (e.g., to fracture your arm)

Grammar and Usage

• Part of speech:

  • Noun: countable/uncountable (e.g., a bone fracture, multiple fractures)
  • Verb: transitive/intransitive (e.g., She fractured her leg. / The rock fractured easily.)

• Typical patterns:

  • fracture + bone/structure/material
  • be/get fractured (passive form is common)

Common Phrases

• bone fracture – a break in a bone
• stress fracture – a small crack in a bone caused by repeated stress
• compound fracture – a severe break where the bone pierces the skin
• fracture of the spine/arm/skull
• hairline fracture – a very thin crack in a bone or material

Collocations

• verb + fracture: suffer, cause, detect, treat, heal, repair
• adjective + fracture: minor, severe, compound, clean, multiple
• noun + fracture: bone, skull, wrist, ankle, rock

Examples

1. The X-ray showed a small fracture in her wrist.
2. He fractured his ankle while playing basketball.
3. The company’s unity began to fracture after the scandal.
4. Repeated pressure can cause a stress fracture in the foot.
5. The bone will take six weeks to heal after the fracture.
6. The earthquake fractured several old buildings.
7. Doctors used metal plates to stabilize the fractured bone.
8. Even a hairline fracture can be painful and require rest.

Synonyms or Related

• break
• crack
• split
• shatter
• rupture

Antonym

• heal
• mend
• repair