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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
Daniel Markind, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Its energy dominance is driven in part by strong innovation in areas such as advanced fracking and horizontal drilling, and the United States uses its preeminence to shape global energy markets and strengthen its geopolitical leverage.
—Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Dividends and buy-writes in agribusiness, fracking and real estate investment trusts may not be as exciting as buying calls in high-flying stocks like MicroStrategy and Palantir Technologies .
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2025
As demand for plastics grows, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has produced an abundant supply of natural gas, an important feedstock for making plastics.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near fracking
Cite this Entry
“Fracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fracking. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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