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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
Ryan Deto, Axios, 16 Apr. 2025
But if the industry can prove to investors that its power plants work as described—which experts expect to happen by the end of the decade—geothermal could expand quickly, just like oil-and-gas fracking did.
—Alexander C. Kaufman, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025
On the House side, lawmakers will consider bills pertaining to fentanyl classification and fracking.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 3 Feb. 2025
In the mid-2000s, the fracking revolution took off, making the US the largest oil and natural gas producer in the world.
—Umair Irfan, Vox, 23 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fracking. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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