ablate

[ a-bleyt ]

See synonyms for ablate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ab·lat·ed, ab·lat·ing.

to remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion, etc.: to ablate a metal surface with intense heat.

verb (used without object),ab·lat·ed, ab·lat·ing.

to become ablated; undergo ablation.

Origin of ablate

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin ablātus “carried away,” past participle of auferre “to carry away,” from au-, variant of ab- ab- + ferre “to bear, bring, carry”; for the element -lātus, earlier tlātus (unrecorded), see also thole², tolerate

Words Nearby ablate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ablate in a sentence

So it is very plausible that low-density stuff from Bennu … would ablate higher in the atmosphere and not have a chance to create meteorites at all.
The asteroid Bennu’s brittle boulders may make grabbing a sample easier | Lisa Grossman | October 8, 2020 | Science News

British Dictionary definitions for ablate

ablate

/ (æbˈleɪt) /

verb

(tr) to remove by ablation

Origin of ablate

C20: back formation from ablation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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