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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
Sean Keane, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
During his visit to the Land of Enchantment, a slight detour from the battleground states, Trump was expected to target Vice President Harris and the Biden administration over record prices, the border crisis, fracking and tax hikes, according to the campaign.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2024
Pennsylvania depends on fracking, and Philadelphia has experienced a rise in social disorder.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Oct. 2024
While Trump has made his pro-drilling ways clear, Vice President Kamala Harris was against fracking but shifted her view on during her presidential campaign.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 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 22 Nov. 2024.
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