hydraulic fracturing

noun

: fracking
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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Analysts say returning may be easier for smaller Western companies that provide services like hydraulic fracturing and other technical support. Stanley Reed, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025 The advent of hydraulic fracturing unleashed a wave of oil and gas production, even as U.S. energy demand barely budged. Seth Blumsack, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025 And a new factor has been changing the prospects for wind and solar: the arrival of abundant supplies of natural gas extracted by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, from shales. IEEE Spectrum, 28 June 2012 The most visible and economically significant of the new production technologies, hydraulic fracturing of shale hydrocarbons (fracking), was fostered by various arms of the federal government starting in the 1970s. William H. Janeway, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2013 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 18 Apr. 2025.

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