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. 2023
How to use amputate in a sentence
One year after the Boston bombing, a maimed survivor faces the choice of amputation.
KIEV, Ukraine—Outside Kiev, outside Ukraine, academics can ask if the country might be better off after the amputation of Crimea.
Like Lewis, Huxley lost his wife to cancer; he said it was like ‘an amputation’.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley | John Garth | November 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThese resulted in trips to the ER for burns, corneal abrasions, and the odd amputation.
Fireworks, Lightning, Riding Lawnmowers and Other Summer Menaces | Trevor Butterworth | July 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn some cases, Roth said, amputation is the only solution to “fixing” horrible infections or deformities.
Illegal Butt Injections Are on the Rise and Women Are at Risk | Lizzie Crocker, Caitlin Dickson | October 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
In our little set of college boys only one, was hurt; he receiving a wound in the leg, which caused its amputation.
"Shiloh" as Seen by a Private Soldier | Warren OlneyGarrison and Phillips proposed the amputation of the diseased limb.
The Blot on the Kaiser's 'Scutcheon | Newell Dwight HillisThe boy that moves his legs or arms will be understood to invite amputation.
Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands and Other Stories | Bret HarteHe was borne to an hospital but lived only one week, after having endured amputation of his arm.
The Blue and The Gray | A. R. WhiteA trusted friend of Desault was Ghopart, well known because of the amputation of the foot that bears his name.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine | Roswell Park
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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