ablate

American  

[a-bleyt] / æˈbleɪt /

verb (used with object)

ablated, ablating

1. to remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion, etc..

   to ablate a metal surface with intense heat.

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verb (used without object)

ablated, ablating

1. to become ablated; undergo ablation.

ablate British  

/ æbˈleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to remove by ablation

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Etymology

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), thole ² ( def. ), tolerate ( def. )

Example Sentences

"Magnetic bioactive nanocomposites are very promising for bone cancer therapy because they can simultaneously ablate tumors through magnetic hyperthermia and support new bone growth," said Dr. Ângela Andrade, lead author of the study.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

But some of those de-orbited satellites don’t seem to fully ablate or burn up.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2025

That causes some of the ice to ablate into gas.

From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2023

Where surgery is inappropriate, radiation therapy can be used to reduce the size of a tumor or ablate portions of the adrenal cortex.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

That might, which was so great that to ablate it the earth had to bear new races, was based on two things, citizenship and the family.

From Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern by Saltus, Edgar