stress fracture

noun

: a usually hairline fracture of a bone that has been subjected to repeated stress

Examples of stress fracture in a Sentence

The gymnast developed a stress fracture in her ankle.

Recent Examples on the Web

But shortly before the World Championships that year, Kayne was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her right knee, and the team was forced to pull out of Worlds. —Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026

But Johnson suffered a stress fracture in his foot during that game against Stonehill and didn’t return until late January. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2026

Second-leading scorer Abdi Bashir, who had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot, has missed the last six games, and freshman power forward Elias Rapieque has missed the last eight games with an undisclosed injury. —Cj Moore, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026

The Hawks were without N’Faly Dante (right knee torn ACL), RayJ Dennis (G League), Nikola Djurisic (G League), Caleb Houstan (G League), Onyeka Okongwu (dental fracture), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Duop Reath (right foot stress fracture) against the Heat. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stress fracture

• contracture
• facture
• manufacture

Medical Definition

stress fracture

noun

: a usually hairline fracture of a bone (as of the foot or lower leg) that has been subjected to repeated stress

occurrence of stress fractures among joggers