fissure

[ fish-er ]
See synonyms for fissure on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a narrow opening produced by cleavage or separation of parts.

  1. Anatomy. a natural division or groove in an organ, as in the brain.

verb (used with object),fis·sured, fis·sur·ing.
  1. to make fissures in; cleave; split.

verb (used without object),fis·sured, fis·sur·ing.
  1. to open in fissures; become split.

Origin of fissure

1
1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin fissūra cleaving, cleft, fissure, equivalent to fiss(us) divided (see fissi-) + -ūra-ure

Other words from fissure

  • fis·su·ral, adjective
  • fis·sure·less, adjective
  • sub·fis·sure, noun
  • su·per·fis·sure, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for fissure

fissure

/ (ˈfɪʃə) /


noun
  1. any long narrow cleft or crack, esp in a rock

  2. a weakness or flaw indicating impending disruption or discord: fissures in a decaying empire

  1. anatomy a narrow split or groove that divides an organ such as the brain, lung, or liver into lobes: See also sulcus

  2. a small unnatural crack in the skin or mucous membrane, as between the toes or at the anus

  3. a minute crack in the surface of a tooth, caused by imperfect joining of enamel during development

verb
  1. to crack or split apart

Origin of fissure

1
C14: from medical Latin fissūra, from Latin fissus split

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fissure

fissure

[ fĭshər ]


  1. A long, narrow crack or opening in the face of a rock. Fissures are often filled with minerals of a different type from those in the surrounding rock.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.