fragment
Definitions
A small piece broken off from something larger.
碎片；片段。
To break or cause to break into pieces.
（使）破碎；（使）分裂。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedfrag (break) + -ment (result) = 'a broken-off piece' (Latin fragmentum). Concrete fragments are bits of bone, pottery, or DNA; abstractly, a fragment is an incomplete piece — a fragment of a conversation, a sentence fragment in grammar.
Root fract still carries 13 more wordsUsage Guide
Watch the stress shift between noun and verb. As a noun, FRAG-ment (stress on the first syllable). As a verb, frag-MENT is common in British English (stress on the second), while American English often keeps first-syllable stress for both. The derived adjective is 'fragmented' and the noun 'fragmentation' (common in tech: memory/disk fragmentation).
Example Sentences
- 1.
Archaeologists pieced together pottery fragments from the dig.
- 2.
The explosion fragmented the windscreen into tiny shards.
- 3.
I only caught a fragment of their conversation.