amputate

[ am-pyoo-teyt ]

/ ˈæm pyʊˌteɪt /

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See synonyms for: amputate / amputated on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), am·pu·tat·ed, am·pu·tat·ing.

to cut off (all or part of a limb or digit of the body), as by surgery.

to prune, lop off, or remove: Because of space limitations the editor amputated the last two paragraphs of the news report.

Obsolete. to prune, as branches of trees.

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Origin of amputate

1630–40; <Latin amputātus pruned, trimmed (past participle of amputāre), equivalent to am(bi) around (cf. ambi-) + put- trim + -ātus-ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM amputate

am·pu·ta·tion, nounam·pu·ta·tive, adjectiveam·pu·ta·tor, nounnon·am·pu·ta·tion, noun

post·am·pu·ta·tion, adjectiveself-am·pu·ta·tion, nounun·am·pu·tat·ed, adjectiveun·am·pu·ta·tive, adjective

Words nearby amputate

ampulla, ampullaceous, ampulla of Lorenzini, ampullula, amp up, amputate, amputee, Ampycus, Amram, Amratian, Amravati

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

How to use amputate in a sentence

As they investigate the secret behind the hypnotic television signal, Mono and Six visit a school full of feral children and a hospital where prosthetic limbs overflow storage bins like so many amputated doll parts.
‘Little Nightmares II’: A hypnotic, dark fairy tale|Christopher Byrd|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Eventually she had to have both limbs amputated above the knee.
The Nursing Home Didn’t Send Her to the Hospital, and She Died|by Sean Campbell|January 8, 2021|ProPublica
Nerve cells in amputated spider legs responded to the wide range of frequencies.
Ogre-faced spiders listen closely to snatch bugs from the air|Curtis Segarra|November 30, 2020|Science News For Students
Her front leg had been amputated to stop the cancer from spreading.
When physicians and veterinarians team up, all species benefit|Liz Devitt|November 5, 2020|Science News For Students

Their commander is a serious man with his left arm amputated just below the elbow.
Crime, Corona, Copper and Trouble in Zambia|Eugene Robinson|October 30, 2020|Ozy
He was removed to the rear, and the doctors decided that it was necessary to amputate the right leg.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Will it cripple you seriously to lose that hand; because Im afraid theyll have to amputate when you go down.
Grapes of wrath|Boyd Cable
The thing necessary was to amputate the gangrened limb, and so prevent the disease from attacking the whole body.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Vol 2|J. H. Merle D'Aubign
True, her right leg was broken, and it had been necessary to amputate her left foot in order to save her life.
Complete Short Works|Georg Ebers
For a moment she had a passing dream that some one was trying to amputate her hand with a wood-saw, then it all came back to her.
Wheat and Huckleberries|Charlotte Marion (White) Vaile

British Dictionary definitions for amputate

amputate

/ (ˈæmpjʊˌteɪt) /

verb

surgery to remove (all or part of a limb, esp an arm or leg)

Derived forms of amputate

amputation, nounamputator, noun

Word Origin for amputate

C17: from Latin amputāre, from am- around + putāre to trim, prune

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

amputate

Origin of amputate

OTHER WORDS FROM amputate

Words nearby amputate

Words related to amputate

How to use amputate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for amputate

Derived forms of amputate

Word Origin for amputate