noun
fragment
FRAG-muhnt
noun
1
A small broken-off piece of something larger.
"Archaeologists found a fragment of an ancient pot at the dig."
"Only a fragment of the original manuscript survives."
verb
1
To break into pieces, or to split apart.
"The vase fragmented when it hit the tile floor."
"The party began to fragment into rival factions."
How to Use Fragment
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA broken-off piece, or the act of breaking something into pieces.
Common pairings
a fragment of
fragment into pieces
sentence fragment
Word Forms
fragmented past tense, fragments plural, fragments singular
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Archaeologists found a _____ of an ancient pot at the dig.
Etymology
From Latin fragmentum ("a piece broken off"), from frangere ("to break").