fractal

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈfræktəl/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(frak′tl)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
frac•tal  (frak′tl),USA pronunciation n. [Math., Physics.]
  1. Mathematics, Physics, Mathematicsa geometrical or physical structure having an irregular or fragmented shape at all scales of measurement between a greatest and smallest scale such that certain mathematical or physical properties of the structure, as the perimeter of a curve or the flow rate in a porous medium, behave as if the dimensions of the structure (frac′tal dimen′sions) are greater than the spatial dimensions.
  • French fractale, equivalent. to Latin frāct(us) broken, uneven (see fractus) + -ale -al2; term introduced by French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot (born 1924) in 1975

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fractal / ˈfræktəl/
  1. a figure or surface generated by successive subdivisions of a simpler polygon or polyhedron, according to some iterative process
Etymology: 20th Century: from Latin frāctus past participle of frangere to break

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