amputee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of amputee
1905–10; amputat(ed) ( def. ) + -ee, modeled on French amputé, past participle of amputer to amputate
Explanation
A person who's had an arm or a leg surgically removed is an amputee. Some amputees get artificial limbs that allow them to be nearly as mobile as before the loss of a limb. Some amputees lose a limb in an accident, while others have surgery to stop a disease, like gangrene, from spreading from an arm or leg to the rest of the body. The surgery to remove a limb is called an amputation, and it's also the word amputee comes from. An amputation was originally "a cutting off of tree branches," from the Latin amputare, "cut off, cut around, or prune."
Vocabulary lists containing amputee
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Salt to the Sea
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The Running Dream
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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.
In Massachusetts, Ford took on the case of Vincent Gunning, a Navy veteran and amputee who was being evicted from a home he inherited from his aunt when she died in 2008.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
The schoolboy said it would be "quite unusual" to become the youngest amputee to complete the challenge and added he was proud of himself for signing up.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The complex is now also home to a water therapy space for amputee soldiers.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
When accused UnitedHealthcare shooter Luigi Mangione arrives at a Manhattan courthouse for hearings this week, a digital billboard featuring amputee Michael Kissling will be mounted on a truck driving around outside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
“I’m a BK amputee too. I lost mine to cancer when I was a kid.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
