Tra từ fracture - Từ điển American Heritage Dictionary 4th

frac·ture (frăkʹchər)n.
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.v. frac·tured, frac·tur·ing, frac·turesv. tr.
1. To cause to break:
fracture a bone.
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). v. intr.
To undergo a fracture. See Synonyms at break. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin frāctūra, from frāctus, past participle of frangere, to break. See bhreg- in Indo-European Roots.]