fragmentation

1 of 2

noun

1
: the act or process of fragmenting or making fragmentary
2
: the state of being fragmented or fragmentary

fragmentate

2 of 2

verb

-ed/-ing/-s
: to break into pieces especially explosively : fractionate, fragmentize
they were sure the master rods on the engines were all fragmentatingDavid Beaty
permits the … artist to fragmentate a single small idea into a limitless string of daily episodesC. W. Morton

Examples of fragmentation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Businesses must transition from human-centric data strategies to making information directly usable by AI, addressing fragmentation and inconsistency. Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Unlike traditional interceptors that rely primarily on blast fragmentation, the PAC-3 family uses hit-to-kill technology, destroying incoming threats through direct body-to-body impact. Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 2026 The team believes that the tissue fragmentation could facilitate contact between sunfish and orca microbiomes. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 July 2026 Al Khafaji explained this as a deliberate workaround to the building-code fragmentation that killed many of its predecessors. Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for fragmentation

Word History

Etymology

Noun

fragment entry 2 + -ation, probably after French fragmentation

Verb

back-formation from fragmentation

First Known Use

Noun

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fragmentation was in 1881

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Cite this Entry

“Fragmentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fragmentation. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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