Fracture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fractured (#; 135); p. pr. & vb. n.. Fracturing.]
Etymology: [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.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Fracture, n.
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. 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. "To be an enemy and once to have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture" South.