All 3 Uses
fracture
in
Change of Heart, by Picoult
(Auto-generated)
- If the noose is positioned right—there's something about a brass eyelet—the fall causes an instant fracture of the C2 vertebra.†
*
- "From what I imagine," Christian said, "the inmate would be hanged in such a way that the spine would be fractured at C2/C3, which would arrest all spontaneous respiration."†
- The force of the drop, combined with the position of the knot, is what's meant to fracture the cervical vertebrae and separate the spinal cord.†
Definitions:
-
(1)
(fracture) a crack or break, or to cause one, especially in something hard -- such as a bone
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Fracture can also be used metaphorically as in "fracture the balance of power."