fissure

/ˈfɪʃər/

/ˈfɪʃə/

Other forms: fissures; fissured; fissuring

A long fine crack in the surface of something is called a fissure. If you see a fissure in the ice on a frozen lake, you'll want to take off your skates and head back to the car.

Fissure has its roots in the Latin word fissura, meaning a cleft or crack. If something breaks into fine cracks, you can describe the action with the verb form of fissure. For example, "She watched in horror as the earth fissured beneath her feet, recognizing the signs of an earthquake but powerless to do anything to save herself except throw herself to the ground and hang on."

Definitions of fissure

1. noun

   a long narrow depression in a surface
   synonyms: chap, crack, cranny, crevice

   type of:

   depression, impression, imprint

   a concavity in a surface produced by pressing
2. noun

   a long narrow opening
   synonyms: cleft, crack, crevice, scissure

   types:

   chap

   a crack in a lip caused usually by cold

   chink

   a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall

   crevasse

   a deep fissure

   fatigue crack

   a crack in metal resulting from metal fatigue

   break, fault, faulting, fracture, geological fault, shift

   (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

   rift

   a narrow fissure in rock

   slit

   a narrow fissure

   split

   a lengthwise crack in wood

   vent, volcano

   a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt

   inclined fault

   a geological fault in which one side is above the other

   strike-slip fault

   a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally

   type of:

   gap, opening

   an open or empty space in or between things
3. noun

   (anatomy) a long narrow slit or groove that divides an organ into lobes
   types:

   sulcus

   (anatomy) any of the narrow grooves in an organ or tissue especially those that mark the convolutions on the surface of the brain

   hilum, hilus

   (anatomy) a depression or fissure where vessels or nerves or ducts enter a bodily organ

   Rolando's fissure, central sulcus, fissure of Rolando, sulcus centralis

   a brain fissure extending upward on the lateral surface of both hemispheres; separates the frontal and parietal lobes

   Sylvian fissure, fissure of Sylvius, lateral cerebral sulcus, sulcus lateralis cerebri

   the deepest and most prominent of the cortical fissures; separates the frontal lobes and temporal lobes in both hemispheres

   parieto-occipital fissure, parieto-occipital sulcus

   a sulcus near the posterior end of each hemisphere that separates the parietal lobes and the occipital lobes in both hemispheres

   calcarine fissure, calcarine sulcus

   a sulcus in the mesial surface of the occipital lobe of the cerebrum

   type of:

   groove, vallecula

   (anatomy) any furrow or channel on a bodily structure or part
4. verb

   break into fissures or fine cracks
   type of:

   crack

   cause to become cracked