abortion

American  

[uh-bawr-shuhn] / əˈbɔr ʃən /

noun

• abortions
  plural

1. Also called voluntary abortion.  the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.

2. any of various surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, especially during the first six months.

3. Also called spontaneous abortion.  miscarriage.

4. an immature and nonviable fetus.

5. abortus.

6. any malformed or monstrous person, thing, etc.

7. Biology. the arrested development of an embryo or an organ at a more or less early stage.

8. the stopping of an illness, infection, etc., at a very early stage.

9. Informal.

   1. shambles; mess.

   2. anything that fails to develop, progress, or mature, as a design or project.

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abortion British  

/ əˈbɔːʃən /

noun

1. an operation or other procedure to terminate pregnancy before the fetus is viable

2. the premature termination of pregnancy by spontaneous or induced expulsion of a nonviable fetus from the uterus

3. the products of abortion; an aborted fetus

4. the arrest of development of an organ

5. a failure to develop to completion or maturity

   the project proved an abortion

6. a person or thing that is deformed

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abortion Scientific  

/ ə-bôr′shən /

1. Induced termination of pregnancy, involving destruction of the embryo or fetus.

2. Any of various procedures that result in such termination.

3. Spontaneous abortion; miscarriage.

4. Cessation of a normal or abnormal process before completion.

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abortion ¹ Cultural  

1. The ending of pregnancy and expulsion of the embryo or fetus, generally before the embryo or fetus is capable of surviving on its own. Abortion may be brought on intentionally by artificial means (induced abortion) or may occur naturally (spontaneous abortion, which is commonly referred to as a miscarriage). (Compare stillbirth; see also family planning and population control.)

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abortion ² Cultural  

1. The deliberate termination of a pregnancy, usually before the embryo or fetus is capable of independent life. In medical contexts, this procedure is called an induced abortion and is distinguished from a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) or stillbirth.

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Discover More

Abortion laws are extremely controversial. Those who describe themselves as “pro-choice” believe that the decision to have an abortion should be left to the mother. In contrast, the “pro-life” faction, arguing that abortion is killing, holds that the state should prohibit abortion in most cases. Feminists (see feminism) (see also feminism) and liberals generally support the pro-choice side; Roman Catholics and Protestant fundamentalists generally back the pro-life side. (See Roe versus Wade.)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abortional
  adjective
• postabortion
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• abortions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abortion

First recorded in 1540–50, abortion is from the Latin word abortiōn- (stem of abortiō ). See abort, -ion

Explanation

Abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. In the United States, the public debate over a women's right to have an abortion is a complex and heated political issue. The words abort and abortion can also apply to non-pregnancy related topics. If you are in the middle of a jewel-heist and the alarm on the vault is tripped, you and your partners in crime might opt to abort the plan and run while you can, debating whether the plan's abortion was a good decision or not later.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abortion abortions

Legal scholars have debated whether surrogates should pay legal damages if they fail to honor a contractual abortion provision, surrender payments remaining on the contract, or even pay back money they already received.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

In 2025, a team of healthcare providers and researchers concluded that only 65% of ChatGPT-3.5’s responses to abortion questions were “acceptable.”

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Baden said, for example, that Guttmacher Institute has an interactive abortion policy map, which is a popular resource for people to understand the laws in all 50 states.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

When his then-partner became pregnant, she chose to have an abortion and Sam, aged 22 at the time, felt a change was needed.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Now, instead of an illegal procedure that might cost $500, any woman could easily obtain an abortion, often for less than $100.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

In other cases reported in US media, cops used Flock to track women who had abortions -- illegal in several US states.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

While abortions were decriminalised in South Korea 2019, there is no clear regulation on how far into pregnancy it can be carried out.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

At Carafem, a reproductive healthcare company that prescribes abortion medication via telehealth in 19 states and D.C., providers have offered the option of misoprostol-only abortions since 2020.

From Slate ● May 18, 2026

According to recent data, medication abortions account for an estimated 63 percent of all abortions in the United States.

From Salon ● May 15, 2026

They knew his clumsy abortions and the little brown pennies he gave sparingly for alms.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• miscarriage