abort

[ uh-bawrt ]

/ əˈbɔrt /

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See synonyms for abort on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to bring forth a fetus from the uterus before the fetus is viable; miscarry.

to develop incompletely; remain in a rudimentary or undeveloped state.

to fail, cease, or stop at an early or premature stage.

Military. to fail to accomplish a purpose or mission for any reason other than enemy action.

Rocketry. (of a missile) to stop before the scheduled flight is completed.

verb (used with object)

to cause to bring forth (a fetus) from the uterus before the fetus is viable.

to cause (a pregnant female) to be delivered of a nonviable fetus.

to cause to cease or end at an early or premature stage: We aborted our vacation when the car broke down.

to terminate (a missile flight, mission, etc.) before completion.

to put down or quell in the early stages: Troops aborted the uprising.

noun

a missile, rocket, etc., that has aborted.

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Origin of abort

1570–80; <Latin abortus miscarried (past participle of aborīrī to disappear, miscarry) equivalent to ab-ab- + -or- come into being + -tus past participle suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM abort

un·a·bort·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH abort

aboard, abort , abroad

Words nearby abort

Aboriginalia, Aboriginality, ab origine, Aborigines, aborning, abort, aborticide, abortifacient, abortion, abortionist, abortion-on-demand

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

How to use abort in a sentence

The executive then sends out an abort signal to the brain’s memory center, the hippocampus.
The Brain Has a Built-in System to Keep Unwanted Memories Out, Study Finds|Shelly Fan|May 3, 2022|Singularity Hub
If the NFT thinks the TAGSAM arm is coming down on something dangerous flagged by the hazard map, it will automatically execute an abort burn that moves the spacecraft up and away from the surface.
A NASA spacecraft is about to scoop up some asteroid rubble|Neel Patel|October 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Because the abort was triggered just before the rocket's main RS-68 engines had begun to ignite, the delay before the next launch attempt may be less than a week.
Delta IV Heavy scrubs again, ULA chief vows to change readiness operations|Eric Berger|October 1, 2020|Ars Technica
Ellen makes her choice, and she throws herself down the stairs to abort the baby.
Why Deny the Obvious: Hollywood’s Backward Stance on Abortion|Teo Bugbee|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton.
What Cliven Bundy’s Famous Backers Said, Before and After|Olivia Nuzzi|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Devastated, she climbed with feral intensity, hoping the baby might spontaneously abort.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling|Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Well, Sarah Palin is travelling across the country alerting people that “angry atheists” want to “abort Christ from Christmas.”
It’s Conservatives Who Really Want Christ Out of Christmas|Dean Obeidallah|December 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
All of a sudden, Mission Control (voiced by Ed Harris, paying homage to Apollo 13) orders the team to abort immediately.
Alfonso Cuarón On His Spellbinding Sci-Fi Film ‘Gravity,’ Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney|Marlow Stern|September 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I've tried my best to abort this big bug, but I can't find anything amiss.
Tight Squeeze|Dean Charles Ing
After we took off and headed for Europe across the Channel there would usually be someone who would abort the mission.
The Biography of a Rabbit|Roy Benson
Some appearances make me think that they abort by becoming confluent with the main petiole.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
Continuous application of equal parts of alcohol and water night and day may abort it.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.)|Grant Hague
The bruised leaves are used locally in painful affections of the joints and to abort syphilitic buboes and abscesses of all kinds.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines|T. H. Pardo de Tavera

British Dictionary definitions for abort

abort

/ (əˈbɔːt) /

verb

to undergo or cause (a woman) to undergo the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable

(tr) to cause (a fetus) to be expelled from the womb before it is viable

(intr) to fail to come to completion; go wrong

(tr) to stop the development of; cause to be abandoned

(intr) to give birth to a dead or nonviable fetus

(of a space flight, military operation, etc) to fail or terminate prematurely

(intr) (of an organism or part of an organism) to fail to develop into the mature form

noun

the premature termination or failure of (a space flight, military operation, etc)

Word Origin for abort

C16: from Latin abortāre, from the past participle of aborīrī to miscarry, from ab- wrongly, badly + orīrī to appear, arise, be born

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

abort

Origin of abort

OTHER WORDS FROM abort

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH abort

Words nearby abort

Words related to abort

How to use abort in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abort

Word Origin for abort