hairline cracks
Barely visible splits
Hairline cracks are extremely fine fractures, barely visible to the naked eye.
The term applies to cracks in walls, foundations, pottery, teeth, or bones—anywhere a thin fissure appears in a solid surface.
Most hairline cracks are cosmetic rather than structural, though they can signal deeper problems: The inspector noted hairline cracks in the basement wall.
- fracturesBreaks in rigid material
- stress fracturesMicroscopic bone breaks from overuse
- fissuresNarrow splits in material
- crazingFine surface fracture pattern
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
surface tension · porcelain · ceramic · plaster · concrete · enamel · surface · fine · delicate · spiderweb · veins · aging · weathered · brittle · tension · load bearing · foundation · glaze
- cracksfissure, gaps, gap, splits, split
- Deteriorationdecay, rot, degradation, deterioration, corrosion
- building damagestructural collapse, bowing, sagging, fracture, fractures