noun · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
noun
Meaning 12
separating something into fine particles
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: atomization, atomisation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: division
13
noun
Meaning 13
the scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: explosion, detonation, blowup
14
noun
Meaning 14
(computer science) the condition of a file that is broken up and stored in many different locations on a magnetic disk
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
fragmentation slows system performance because it takes extra time to locate and assemble the parts of the fragmented file
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: storage
15
noun
Meaning 15
the disintegration of social norms governing behavior and thought and social relationships
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: decomposition, disintegration
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English fragment Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English fragmentation From fragment + -ation.
Across languages
Translations
57 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
раздробяване
(razdrobjavane)
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Bulgarian:
фрагментация
(fragmentacija)
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Czech:
fragmentace
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Dutch:
fragmentatie
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Finnish:
sirpaloituminen
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Galician:
fragmentación
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
German:
Fragmentierung
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
German:
Zersplitterung
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
German:
Zertrümmerung
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Greek:
θρυμματισμός
(thrymmatismós)
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Hindi:
विघटन
(vighṭan)
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Northern Kurdish:
parçêbûn
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Māori:
māhurehurenga
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Polish:
fragmentacja
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Portuguese:
fragmentação
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Romanian:
fragmentare
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Serbo-Croatian:
fragmentácija
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Spanish:
fragmentación
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Tagalog:
pagkakapira-piraso
— act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration
Bulgarian:
разпръскване
(razprǎskvane)
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Dutch:
fragmentatie
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Finnish:
sirpaloituminen
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Galician:
fragmentación
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
German:
Fragmentierung
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
German:
Zersplitterung
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Portuguese:
fragmentação
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Romanian:
fragmentare
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Serbo-Croatian:
fragmentácija
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Spanish:
fragmentación
— process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter.
Bulgarian:
фрагментиране
(fragmentirane)
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Czech:
fragmentace
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Dutch:
fragmentatie
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Finnish:
fragmentaatio
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Finnish:
fragmentoituminen
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Finnish:
pirstoutuminen
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Galician:
fragmentación
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
German:
Fragmentierung
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
German:
Zersplitterung
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Greek:
κατακερματισμός
(katakermatismós)
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Hungarian:
töredezettség
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Kazakh:
үзінділеу
(üzındıleu)
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Malay:
penyerpihan
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Malay:
fragmentasi
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Māori:
pirara
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Māori:
kongakonga
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Portuguese:
fragmentação
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Serbo-Croatian:
fragmentácija
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Spanish:
fragmentación
— the breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk
Dutch:
fragmentatie
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Finnish:
fragmentaatio
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Galician:
fragmentación
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
German:
Fragmentierung
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
German:
Zersplitterung
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Hungarian:
csomagtördelés
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Portuguese:
fragmentação
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Serbo-Croatian:
fragmentácija
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
Spanish:
fragmentación
— the breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network
