amputee

American  

[am-pyoo-tee] / ˌæm pyʊˈti /

noun

1. a person who has lost all or part of an arm, hand, leg, etc., by amputation.

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amputee British  

/ ˌæmpjʊˈtiː /

noun

1. a person who has had a limb amputated

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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."

Example Sentences

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

Annear, an amputee who recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the sort of fighting spirit that first attracted Gibson, became CEO and director of the foundation.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2025

In the body-worn camera video PC Smith can be heard repeatedly asking Mr Burgess, who was a right leg amputee, to put down the knife.

From BBC • May 19, 2025

She would not miss him as she did now, when the ache of his absence was her unremitting companion—like the phantom pain of an amputee.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini