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Hydraulic fracturing is a technique in which a liquid is injected under high pressure into a well in order to create tiny fissures in the rock deep beneath the earth which then allow gas and oil to flow into the well. The term "hydraulic fracturing" is first known to have appeared in print in a 1948 issue of Oil & Gas Journal. A 1953 issue of the same journal also contains the earliest known print use of "fracking." The word fracking (sometimes spelled fraccing or fracing, particularly by those in the gas and oil industries) was created by shortening "fracturing." The addition of the "k" brings the word into conformity with the inflected forms of similar English words ending in a vowel plus "c," such as shellacking, panicking, and frolicking.
Examples of fracking in a Sentence
Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2025
Technological shifts like fracking, geopolitical decisions by OPEC+, weather disruptions, and global demand trends shape oil markets far more decisively than executive orders or campaign slogans.
—Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
In 2021, the Legislature forced out Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, a sharp critic of utility overreach who blocked an effort to make Floridians pay for FPL’s Oklahoma fracking venture.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
America gained energy independence through innovations in shale and fracking.
—Steve Booren, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fracking. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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