amputate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut off (all or part of a limb or digit of the body), as by surgery.
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to prune, lop off, or remove.
Because of space limitations the editor amputated the last two paragraphs of the news report.
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Obsolete. to prune, as branches of trees.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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amputationnoun
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amputatornoun
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nonamputationnoun
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self-amputationnoun
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amputativeadjective
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postamputationadjective
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unamputatedadjective
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unamputativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amputatesimple
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amputatessimple
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have amputatedperfect
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has amputatedperfect
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am amputatingprogressive
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are amputatingprogressive
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is amputatingprogressive
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have been amputatingperfect progressive
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has been amputatingperfect progressive
Past
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amputatedsimple
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had amputatedperfect
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was amputatingprogressive
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were amputatingprogressive
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had been amputatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of amputate
1630–40; < Latin amputātus pruned, trimmed (past participle of amputāre ), equivalent to am ( bi ) around ( cf. ambi-) + put- trim + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Use the verb amputate when you need to describe the surgical removal of a limb, such as an arm or a leg. For example, a doctor might amputate an accident victim's badly crushed arm. No doubt you hope you'll never have to tell someone that you have to amputate, but if you do make sure you pronounce the word correctly, with the accent on the first syllable: "AM-pyo-tate." Amputate comes from the Latin word amputat-, meaning "lopped off." It can describe the removal of limbs or digits from both humans and animals.
Vocabulary lists containing amputate
Boy: Tales of Childhood
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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"They Speak for Success" and "Breaking the Ice"
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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.
See Examples For:
Why would someone want to amputate healthy limbs?
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Woodhall would amputate more than 100 limbs, plus “many hands, and fingers,” in the next 25 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
But the doctors in Gaza refused to amputate, hoping to save the foot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
Shaymaa was rushed to Nasser Hospital, where doctors quickly decided to amputate.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
"They're not gonna amputate it, baby. They're gonna fix it," she assured her.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
He gives them scene transplants or amputates a character or administers dialogue transfusions, but somehow these measures never restore these dramas to robust health.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bustamante insisted that a voter could not remove the ink and vote more than once "unless he amputates a finger, and if he does, I'll be delighted to let him vote two times, even ten."
From Time Magazine Archive
Flimsy characterization amputates the play just short of greatness.
From Time Magazine Archive
Etherized by the fascinations of pleasure, we are often unconscious of pain while the devil amputates the fingers, the feet and hands, or even the arms and legs of our character.
From Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power by Marden, Orison Swett
It amputates his imagination at its tap root.
From The Lost Art of Reading by Lee, Gerald Stanley
Relatives found Anderson Daniel Salcedo, 22, at Caracas's university hospital and alerted his mother, who immediately travelled to the Venezuelan capital, Reuters reported, only to find they had already amputated his legs.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
His four brothers also fought in World War Two, one of whom had a leg amputated.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
She ultimately had to have her flipper amputated, according to Jaros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Lindsey Vonn says her left leg almost needed to be amputated following her horrific crash while competing at the Milan-Cortina Olympics earlier this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
Francie couldn’t understand the French but she gathered that the play was written around the actress’s amputated leg.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Once serious infection sets in, amputating a foot or limb may be the only option to save a patient’s life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Procedures that have been performed by staff at Al Shifa under such circumstances have included amputating limbs and fingers, stitching up serious wounds, and treating serious burns, said Abu Selmeyah, without elaborating.
From Reuters ● Nov. 10, 2023
A staph infection meant amputating her left foot below the knee in 2017.
From Washington Times ● May 4, 2023
Later, doctors recommended amputating his left leg, his mother said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
“Yeah, my big toe. If I wasn’t wearing shoes, they’d be amputating this toe sure as hell.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
