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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
Allison Kiehl, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The company’s two-part explanation said the blowout happened during a period after fracking had been finished and before extraction began.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 26 June 2025
While other states pursued fracking or other things, Kansas has stayed true.
—Rich Tabaka, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Since then, fracking has led to production surging to all-time highs.
—Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fracking. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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