amputate
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.
Origin of amputate
1Other words from amputate
- am·pu·ta·tion, noun
- am·pu·ta·tive, adjective
- am·pu·ta·tor, noun
- non·am·pu·ta·tion, noun
- post·am·pu·ta·tion, adjective
- self-am·pu·ta·tion, noun
- un·am·pu·tat·ed, adjective
- un·am·pu·ta·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use amputate in a sentence
Dostum himself summoned a doctor, who arrived carrying a satchel with a large saw on top that was used for amputating limbs.
The Warlord Who Defines Afghanistan: An Excerpt From Bruce Riedel’s ’What We Won’ | Bruce Riedel | July 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTheft, for example, is punishable by amputating the right hand.
Gangs attack albino children and adults, amputating their limbs and sometimes leaving them for dead.
Unfortunately they took away my pistol, but a couple of amputating knives will make good weapons.
Condemned as a Nihilist | George Alfred HentyHis accomplice escaped, but the woman got back her money and thanked Cecè for amputating her arm instead of killing her.
Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones
The surgeons put off amputating the leg, he was so exhausted, but at last it was imperatively necessary to amputate.
The Wound Dresser | Walt WhitmanOn looking closer, I found that it was a ghastly pile of arms and legs from the amputating-room.
E.P. Roe: Reminiscences of his Life | Mary A. RoeWhy yes, amputating heads was in those parts a very regal act.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols) | Thomas De Quincey
British Dictionary definitions for amputate
/ (ˈæmpjʊˌteɪt) /
surgery to remove (all or part of a limb, esp an arm or leg)
Origin of amputate
1Derived forms of amputate
- amputation, noun
- amputator, noun
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
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