0 a small piece or a part, especially when broken from something whole:
Literary scholars are piecing together her last unpublished novel from fragments of a recently discovered manuscript.
The road was covered with fragments of glass from the shattered window.
1 to break something into small parts or to be broken up in this way:
2 a small piece or part, esp. one that is broken off of something:
Restriction fragments were visualized on 3% agarose gels containing 1% ethidium bromide.
No significant sequence conservation was observed in these short removed receptor fragments of variable lengths.
Particular minerals can be recognised by their characteristic optical properties so fragments can be identified.
In major cities where local government is fragmented and has little ability to represent the urban area, employers' organisations may play a more important role.
From government to fragmented local governance or more integrated urban governance?
The different fragments, however, each manifest more and less progressive variants and show marks of the new social movement heritage of the 1970s.
From some points of view it does not really matter whether these fragments originated as invading parasites or breakaway rebels.
Every group of human beings has a set of agreed emotive fragments.