hydraulic fracturing

noun

: fracking
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process used to extract oil and natural gas from bedrock.Maggie Astor
The gas-fired plants come courtesy of the revolution in hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), which has delivered a vast supply of low-cost natural gas to an electricity market that has struggled with steadily rising coal prices since 2001.Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren

Examples of hydraulic fracturing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The two candidates agreed on a number of things, including opposition to a federal ban on hydraulic fracturing to extract oil, support for a ban on oil and gas leases on federal land and support for a boost in the federal minimum wage. John Aguilar, Denver Post, 29 May 2026 Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing unlocked enormous oil and gas resources in formations like the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford. Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026 Cape Station entails drilling wells 10,000 feet deep—about 2 miles—and then directionally drilling horizontally another 7,500 feet to create adequately sized reservoirs, and fracking (hydraulic fracturing) the rock to release the flows of water naturally heated to more than 400 degrees. Jordan Blum, Fortune, 14 May 2026 Wright claimed in 2024 that Liberty Energy, valued at $3 billion, was responsible for nearly 10 percent of total energy production in the United States, including hydraulic fracturing operations that spanned 20 percent of the country’s onshore wells. Anca Gurzu, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hydraulic fracturing

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hydraulic fracturing was in 1948

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Cite this Entry

“Hydraulic fracturing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hydraulic%20fracturing. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.

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