rup·ture (rŭp'chər)
n.

1. 1. The process or instance of breaking open or bursting.
   2. The state of being broken open.
2. A break in friendly relations.
3. Pathology.
   1. A hernia, especially of the groin or intestines.
   2. A tear in an organ or a tissue: rupture of an appendix; ligament rupture.

v., -tured, -tur·ing, -tures.

v.tr.
To break open; burst.

v.intr.
To undergo or suffer a rupture.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin ruptūra, from ruptus, past participle of rumpere, to break.]

rupturable rup'tur·a·ble adj.

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---