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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amputationnoun
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amputatornoun
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nonamputationnoun
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self-amputationnoun
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amputativeadjective
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postamputationadjective
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unamputatedadjective
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unamputativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amputatesimple
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amputatessimple
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have amputatedperfect
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has amputatedperfect
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am amputatingprogressive
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are amputatingprogressive
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is amputatingprogressive
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have been amputatingperfect progressive
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has been amputatingperfect progressive
Past
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amputatedsimple
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had amputatedperfect
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was amputatingprogressive
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were amputatingprogressive
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had been amputatingperfect progressive
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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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Woodhall would amputate more than 100 limbs, plus “many hands, and fingers,” in the next 25 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Last week, he had surgery to amputate his right hand, and is due to undergo further life-changing surgery to both his legs and his other hand on Thursday.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
Shaymaa was rushed to Nasser Hospital, where doctors quickly decided to amputate.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
Doctors in Egypt sought to amputate beneath his right shin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
“Before that, she had polio. Her right leg was shorter than her left. She wore long skirts to cover her legs. Eventually they had to amputate her right leg.”
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
He gives them scene transplants or amputates a character or administers dialogue transfusions, but somehow these measures never restore these dramas to robust health.
From Time Magazine Archive
Flimsy characterization amputates the play just short of greatness.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bustamante insisted that a voter could not remove the ink and vote more than once "unless he amputates a finger, and if he does, I'll be delighted to let him vote two times, even ten."
From Time Magazine Archive
The surgeon who amputates a limb, in order to save the life of his patient, acts upon the same principle.
From A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory by Bledsoe, Albert Taylor
Is the surgeon guilty of wrong who amputates a limb to preserve life?
From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.
The Italian had both his legs amputated after a motor racing accident in 2001 at the Lausitzring track in Germany.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
She ultimately had to have her flipper amputated, according to Jaros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Mona had her leg amputated two years ago because of a medical condition, and she worried that shelters would not have accessible toilets.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
One monk was struck by a vehicle in a November traffic accident, and his leg had to be amputated.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
In 1987, forced to spend a night in the open while descending from the 28,169-foot summit of Kanchenjunga, he froze his feet and had to have all his toes amputated.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Instead of amputating her arm to stop the spread of cancer, as her doctors urged her to do, Milla turns to a severely restricted diet consisting primarily of juice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
Procedures that have been performed by staff at Al Shifa under such circumstances have included amputating limbs and fingers, stitching up serious wounds, and treating serious burns, said Abu Selmeyah, without elaborating.
From Reuters ● Nov. 10, 2023
A staph infection meant amputating her left foot below the knee in 2017.
From Washington Times ● May 4, 2023
Later, doctors recommended amputating his left leg, his mother said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
Gangrene was spreading from Day’s toes to his knee; his doctor said his toes needed amputating, but Day refused.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
