fracture

(frăkˈchər)

1. a. The act or process of breaking.
   b. The condition of having been broken or ruptured: “a sudden and irreparable fracture of the established order” (W. Bruce Lincoln).
2. A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.
3. Mineralogy
   a. The characteristic manner in which a mineral breaks.
   b. The characteristic appearance of the surface of a broken mineral.
4. Geology A crack or fault in a rock.

1. a. To cause to break: The impact fractured a bone.
   b. To undergo a break in (a bone): He fractured his ankle in the fall.
2. To disrupt or destroy as if by breaking: fractured the delicate balance of power.
3. To abuse or misuse flagrantly, as by violating rules: ignorant writers who fracture the language.
4. Slang To cause to laugh heartily: “Jack Benny fractured audiences . . . for more than 50 years” (Newsweek).