Crack vs. Fracture — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 30, 2024
Crack refers to a narrow break or fissure in a surface, often without material separation, while a fracture denotes a complete or partial break in a bone or solid material, usually involving separation.
Difference Between Crack and Fracture
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Cracks typically appear as thin lines on a surface, indicating slight damage that doesn't always affect the structural integrity. Whereas fractures are more severe, often causing complete or partial disruption in materials like bone or metal, significantly affecting their function.
In materials science, a crack might not progress to a complete break, making it less severe in some contexts. On the other hand, fractures imply a complete or significant break, suggesting a more serious condition requiring immediate attention or repair.
In medical terminology, a crack is often referred to as a hairline fracture, which is still a type of fracture but indicates only a slight break in the bone. Conversely, fractures can range from simple ones, where the bone remains aligned, to compound fractures, where the bone pierces the skin.
Geologically, cracks can appear in the earth’s surface from seismic activity but generally do not indicate a complete separation of layers. Fractures in the geological context, however, can lead to significant shifts, such as fault lines, which markedly change the landscape.
In everyday language, people might refer to minor damage in objects like pottery or glass as a crack, implying it is still usable. Whereas a fracture in such contexts usually means the object is broken into pieces or severely damaged.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A thin line indicating a break without separation.
A break or split in material, often with separation.
Severity
Generally less severe; may not affect overall structural integrity.
More severe; typically affects structural integrity.
Types
Hairline cracks, surface cracks.
Simple, compound, complete, greenstick fractures.
Implications
Minor repairs might be needed; less impact on function.
Often requires significant repair or medical intervention.
Common Contexts
Pottery, glass, walls.
Bones, geology, construction materials.
Compare with Definitions
Crack
A slight opening caused by a split in a solid object.
A crack in the window pane appeared after the storm.
Fracture
Fracture a bone of;
I broke my foot while playing hockey
Crack
A narrow fissure in rock or earth.
Water seeped through the cracks in the rock.
Fracture
To break or crack something.
He fractured the window by throwing a ball at it.
Crack
A break without complete separation of parts.
There was a small crack in the vase, but it held together.
Fracture
The cracking or breaking of a hard object.
The impact caused a fracture in the sculpture.
Crack
A sound of a sudden sharp noise.
The whip made a loud crack when used.
Fracture
A break in geological formations.
The earthquake caused several fractures in the crust.
Crack
An attempt or try.
She gave a crack at solving the complex equation.
Fracture
A division or split among people.
A political fracture within the party was evident.
Crack
To make a sharp snapping sound
His knees cracked as he sat down.
Fracture
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid.
Crack
(Chemistry) To break into simpler molecules, often by means of heat or a catalyst.
Fracture
The act or process of breaking.
Crack
To break without complete separation of parts
The mirror cracked.
Fracture
The condition of having been broken or ruptured
"a sudden and irreparable fracture of the established order" (W. Bruce Lincoln).
Crack
To break or snap apart
The branch cracked off and fell.
Fracture
A break, rupture, or crack, especially in bone or cartilage.
Crack
To break down; fail
The defendant's composure finally began to crack.
Fracture
The characteristic manner in which a mineral breaks.
Crack
To have a mental or physical breakdown
Cracked under the pressure.
Fracture
The characteristic appearance of the surface of a broken mineral.
Crack
To change sharply in pitch or timbre, as from hoarseness or emotion. Used of the voice.
Fracture
(Geology) A crack or fault in a rock.
Crack
To move or go rapidly
Was cracking along at 70 miles an hour.
Fracture
To cause to break
The impact of the fall fractured the bone.
Crack
To cause to break without complete separation of parts
The pebble cracked the car's windshield.
Fracture
To undergo a break in (a bone)
He fractured his ankle in the fall.
Crack
To cause to break with a sharp snapping sound
Crack nuts.
Fracture
To disrupt or destroy as if by breaking
Fractured the delicate balance of power.
Crack
To crush (corn or wheat, for example) into small pieces.
Fracture
To abuse or misuse flagrantly, as by violating rules
Ignorant writers who fracture the language.
Crack
To strike, especially with a sharp sound
Cracked the intruder over the head with a lamp.
Fracture
(Slang) To cause to laugh heartily
"Jack Benny fractured audiences ... for more than 50 years" (Newsweek).
Crack
To cause to come into forceful contact with something, especially with a sharp sound
Fell and cracked his head against the floor.
Fracture
To undergo a fracture.
Crack
To open to a slight extent
Crack a window to let in some air.
Fracture
An instance of breaking, a place where something has broken.
Crack
To break open or into
Crack a safe.
Fracture
(medicine) A break in bone or cartilage.
Crack
To open up for use or consumption
Crack a book.
Cracked a beer.
Fracture
(geology) A fault or crack in a rock.
Crack
To break through (an obstacle) in order to win acceptance or acknowledgment
Finally cracked the "men-only" rule at the club.
Fracture
(ambitransitive) To break, or cause something to break.
Crack
To discover the solution to, especially after considerable effort
Crack a code.
Fracture
To amuse (a person) greatly; to split someone's sides.
Crack
To cause (the voice) to crack.
Fracture
The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach.
Crack
(Informal) To tell (a joke), especially on impulse or in an effective manner.
Fracture
The breaking of a bone.
Crack
To cause to have a mental or physical breakdown.
Fracture
The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture.
Crack
To impair or destroy
Their rude remarks cracked his equanimity.
Fracture
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.
Crack
To reduce (petroleum) to simpler compounds by cracking.
Fracture
Breaking of hard tissue such as bone;
It was a nasty fracture
The break seems to have been caused by a fall
Crack
A partial split or break; a fissure
Cracks in the basement wall.
Fracture
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other;
They built it right over a geological fault
Crack
A slight narrow space
The window was open a crack.
Fracture
The act of cracking something
Crack
(Informal) The fissure between the buttocks.
Fracture
Violate or abuse;
This writer really fractures the language
Crack
A defect or flaw
Cracks in the argument.
A crack in his composure.
Fracture
Interrupt, break, or destroy;
Fracture the balance of power
Crack
A sharp snapping sound, such as the report of a firearm.
Fracture
Break into pieces;
The pothole fractured a bolt on the axle
Crack
A sharp resounding blow
Gave him a crack on the head.
Fracture
Become fractured;
The tibia fractured from the blow of the iron pipe
Crack
A breaking, harshly dissonant vocal tone or sound, as in hoarseness.
Fracture
Break (a bone);
She broke her clavicle
Crack
An attempt or try
Gave him a crack at the job.
Took a crack at photography.
Crack
A witty or sarcastic remark.
Crack
A moment; an instant
At the crack of dawn.
Crack
(Irish) Fun had when socializing; social amusement.
Crack
(Slang) Crack cocaine.
Crack
Excelling in skill or achievement; first-rate
A crack shot.
A crack tennis player.
Crack
(intransitive) To form cracks.
It's been so dry, the ground is starting to crack.
Crack
(intransitive) To break apart under force, stress, or pressure.
When I tried to stand on the chair, it cracked.
Crack
(intransitive) To become debilitated by psychological pressure.
Anyone would crack after being hounded like that.
Crack
(intransitive) To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture.
When we showed him the pictures of the murder scene, he cracked.
Crack
(intransitive) To make a cracking sound.
The bat cracked with authority and the ball went for six.
Crack
To change rapidly in register.
His voice cracked with emotion.
Crack
To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering.
His voice finally cracked when he was fourteen.
Crack
(intransitive) To make a sharply humorous comment.
"I would too, with a face like that," she cracked.
Crack
To realize that one is transgender.
She cracked at age 22 and came out to her friends and family over the next few months.
Crack
(transitive) To make a crack or cracks in.
The ball cracked the window.
Crack
(transitive) To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress.
You'll need a hammer to crack a black walnut.
Crack
(transitive) To strike forcefully.
She cracked him over the head with her handbag.
Crack
(transitive) To open slightly.
Could you please crack the window?
Crack
To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure.
They managed to crack him on the third day.
Crack
To solve a difficult problem.
I've finally cracked it, and of course the answer is obvious in hindsight.
Crack
(transitive) To overcome a security system or component.
It took a minute to crack the lock, three minutes to crack the security system, and about twenty minutes to crack the safe.
They finally cracked the code.
Crack
(transitive) To cause to make a sharp sound.
To crack a whip
Crack
(transitive) To tell (a joke).
The performance was fine until he cracked that dead baby joke.
Crack
To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse.
Acetone is cracked to ketene and methane at 700°C.
Crack
To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits.
That software licence will expire tomorrow unless we can crack it.
Crack
To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food.
I'd love to crack open a beer.
Let's crack a tube and watch the game.
Crack
(obsolete) To brag; to boast.
Crack
To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
Crack
(colloquial) To barely reach, attain to (a measurement, extent).
An underground band that never cracked the Hot 100
Crack
A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
A large crack had formed in the roadway.
Crack
A narrow opening.
We managed to squeeze through a crack in the rock wall.
Open the door a crack.
Crack
A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.
I didn't appreciate that crack about my hairstyle.
Crack
(slang) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.
Crack head
Crack
Something good-tasting or habit-forming.
Crack
(onomatopoeia) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks.
The crack of the falling branch could be heard for miles.
Crack
(onomatopoeia) Any sharp sound.
The crack of the bat hitting the ball.
Crack
A sharp, resounding blow.
Crack
(informal) An attempt at something.
I'd like to take a crack at that game.
Crack
Vagina.
Crack
(informal) The space between the buttocks.
Pull up your pants! Your crack is showing.
Crack
Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company.
The party was great crack.
Crack
Business; events; news.
What's the crack?
What's this crack about a possible merger?
Crack
(computing) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software.
Has anyone got a crack for DocumentWriter 3.0?
Crack
An expanding circle of white water surrounding the site of a large explosion at shallow depth, marking the progress of the shock wave through the air above the water.A nuclear explosion in shallow water; the crack is clearly visible on the water's surface.
Crack
A meaningful chat.
Crack
(Internet slang) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose.
Crack
The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
Crack
(archaic) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity.
He has a crack.
Crack
(archaic) A crazy or crack-brained person.
Crack
(obsolete) A boast; boasting.
Crack
(obsolete) Breach of chastity.
Crack
(obsolete) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
Crack
A brief time; an instant; a jiffy.
I'll be with you in a crack.
Crack
(obsolete) One who excels; the best.
Crack
Highly trained and competent.
Even a crack team of investigators would have trouble solving this case.
Crack
Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch.
She's a crack shot with that rifle.
Crack
To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts.
Crack
To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze.
O, madam, my old heart is cracked.
He thought none poets till their brains were cracked.
Crack
To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip.
Crack
To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke.
Crack
To cry up; to extol; - followed by up.
Crack
To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts.
By misfortune it cracked in the coling.
The mirror cracked from side to side.
Crack
To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
The credit . . . of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out.
Crack
To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound.
As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
Crack
To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; - with of.
Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack.
Crack
A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass.
Crack
Rupture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense.
My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw.
Crack
A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip.
Will the stretch out to the crack of doom?
Crack
The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
Though now our voicesHave got the mannish crack.
Crack
Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack.
Crack
A crazy or crack-brained person.
I . . . can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector.
Crack
A boast; boasting.
Crack
Breach of chastity.
Crack
A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
Val. 'T is a noble child. Vir. A crack, madam.
Crack
A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack.
Crack
Free conversation; friendly chat.
What is crack in English? . . . A crack is . . . a chat with a good, kindly human heart in it.
Crack
A witty remark; a wisecrack.
Crack
A chance or opportunity to do something; an attempt; as, I'll take a crack at it.
Crack
A form of cocaine, highly purified and prepared as small pellets, especially suitable for smoking; - also called rock. Used in this form it appears to be more addicting than cocaine powder.
Crack
Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of; as, a crack shot.
One of our crack speakers in the Commons.
Crack
A long narrow opening
Crack
A narrow opening;
He opened the window a crack
Crack
A long narrow depression in a surface
Crack
A sudden sharp noise;
The crack of a whip
He heard the cracking of the ice
He can hear the snap of a twig
Crack
A chance to do something;
He wanted a shot at the champion
Crack
Witty remark
Crack
A blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts;
There was a crack in the mirror
Crack
A purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted
Crack
A usually brief attempt;
He took a crack at it
I gave it a whirl
Crack
The act of cracking something
Crack
Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only;
The glass cracked when it was heated
Crack
Make a very sharp explosive sound;
His gun cracked
Crack
Make a sharp sound;
His fingers snapped
Crack
Hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise;
The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler
Crack
Pass through (a barrier);
Registrations cracked through the 30,000 mark in the county
Crack
Break partially but keep its integrity;
The glass cracked
Crack
Break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension;
The rope snapped
Crack
Suffer a nervous breakdown
Crack
Tell spontaneously;
Crack a joke
Crack
Cause to become cracked;
Heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair
Crack
Reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
Crack
Break into simpler molecules by means of heat;
The petroleum cracked
Crack
Of the highest quality;
An ace reporter
A crack shot
A first-rate golfer
A super party
Played top-notch tennis
An athlete in tiptop condition
She is absolutely tops
Common Curiosities
What are the common causes of fractures?
Fractures commonly result from high-impact accidents, falls, or direct blows.
Are cracks repairable?
Yes, cracks are often repairable depending on the material and extent of the damage.
How are fractures treated in medical settings?
Medical treatment for fractures may involve immobilization with casts or splints, and in severe cases, surgical intervention.
Can a crack turn into a fracture?
Yes, under continued stress or impact, a crack can deepen or widen, becoming a fracture.
What materials are most susceptible to cracks?
Materials like glass, ceramics, and thin metals are more susceptible to developing cracks.
What are the implications of geological fractures for the environment?
Geological fractures can affect landforms, water pathways, and even lead to earthquakes or volcanic activity.
How can fractures affect the structural integrity of buildings?
Fractures in building materials can compromise the building's stability and may lead to collapse if not addressed.
Can cracks emit sound?
Yes, some cracks can produce a sharp sound, especially when they occur suddenly or under stress.
What is the main difference between a crack and a fracture?
A crack refers to a minor, superficial break without separation, while a fracture is a complete or partial separation in a material or bone.
Is a hairline fracture considered a crack or a fracture?
A hairline fracture is considered a type of fracture, specifically a minor one where the break in the bone is very thin.
What is a compound fracture?
A compound fracture is a severe type of bone fracture where the broken bone pierces the skin.
What role do fractures play in orthopedics?
Fractures are a primary concern in orthopedics, focusing on diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of broken bones.
How are cracks detected in industrial settings?
Cracks are detected through visual inspections, ultrasonic testing, or other non-destructive testing methods.
Can both cracks and fractures be prevented?
While not all can be prevented, proper maintenance and avoiding excessive stress can minimize the occurrence of both cracks and fractures.
What are the long-term effects of untreated fractures?
Untreated fractures can lead to improper healing, chronic pain, and loss of function in the affected area.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
