amputate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut off (all or part of a limb or digit of the body), as by surgery.
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to prune, lop off, or remove.
Because of space limitations the editor amputated the last two paragraphs of the news report.
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Obsolete. to prune, as branches of trees.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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amputativeadjective
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amputationnoun
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self-amputationnoun
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unamputativeadjective
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postamputationadjective
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nonamputationnoun
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amputatornoun
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unamputatedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has amputatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have amputatedperfect
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is amputatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am amputatingprogressive 1st person singular
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are amputatingprogressive
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has been amputatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been amputatingperfect progressive
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amputatessingular 3rd person
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amputatingparticiple
Past
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had amputatedperfect
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was amputatingprogressive singular
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amputatedsimple
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had been amputatingperfect progressive
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were amputatingprogressive plural
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amputatedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of amputate
1630–40; < Latin amputātus pruned, trimmed (past participle of amputāre ), equivalent to am ( bi ) around ( cf. ambi-) + put- trim + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Use the verb amputate when you need to describe the surgical removal of a limb, such as an arm or a leg. For example, a doctor might amputate an accident victim's badly crushed arm. No doubt you hope you'll never have to tell someone that you have to amputate, but if you do make sure you pronounce the word correctly, with the accent on the first syllable: "AM-pyo-tate." Amputate comes from the Latin word amputat-, meaning "lopped off." It can describe the removal of limbs or digits from both humans and animals.
Vocabulary lists containing amputate
Boy: Tales of Childhood
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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"They Speak for Success" and "Breaking the Ice"
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
