fragment

Pluralfragments

Formsfragments, fragmenting, fragmented

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A small piece that has broken off something larger.

   Like a small piece that breaks off the edge of a cookie.

   She found a fragment of glass on the kitchen floor.

   Only a few fragments of the old letter survived the fire.

   Similarpiece, bit, scrap, chunk, chip

   Oppositewhole

   Note
2. 2
   nouncountable

   A group of words that is missing a subject or a verb, so it is not a full sentence.

   Like half of a sentence that stops before it tells you what happens.

   The teacher circled a fragment in my essay.

   Too many fragments make writing hard to follow.

   Note
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To break something into many small pieces.

   Like dropping a plate so it breaks into many pieces.

   A hard blow can fragment a rock into tiny shards.

   Heat will fragment the glass if it cools too fast.

   Similarshatter, break, splinter, fracture, smash

4. 4
   verbintransitive

   To break into separate pieces.

   Like a cracker breaking into crumbs when you squeeze it.

   The ice began to fragment as the river warmed.

   Over time, the group fragmented into smaller teams.

   Similarsplinter, split, fracture, disintegrate, divide

   Oppositeunite, unify, coalesce, merge

   Note
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A small, unfinished piece of computer code.

   Like one step of a recipe written down without the other steps.

   She copied a fragment of code from the tutorial.

   This fragment won't work without the rest of the program.

   Similarsnippet

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable

   The part of a web address after the # sign that points to a spot on a page.

   Like a page number that sends you to the exact spot in a long book.

   The link's fragment took her straight to the FAQ section.

   Add a fragment to the address to jump to that heading.

   Similaranchor, hash

   Note
7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To store a file in scattered pieces across a disk instead of in one place.

   Like keeping the pages of one book in many different drawers.

   Constant editing can fragment a large file across the disk.

   The system fragmented the document into scattered blocks.

   Oppositedefragment

   Note
8. 8
   nouncountable

   A piece of a living thing that breaks off and grows into a new individual.

   Each fragment of the starfish grew into a whole new animal.

   A single fragment can develop into a complete plant.

   Similarpiece, segment

   Note
9. 9
   verbintransitive

   Of a living thing, to split into pieces that each grow into a new individual.

   Some worms can fragment when they reproduce.

   The plant may fragment to form many new plants.

   Similarsplit, divide

   Note

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