abort

(ə bôrt)

intransitive verb

  1. to give birth before the embryo or fetus is viable; have a miscarriage
  2. to fail to be completed
  3. Biol. to fail to develop; stay rudimentary

Origin: L abortare < abortus, pp. of aboriri, to miscarry, pass away, orig., to set (as the sun) < ab-, from + oriri, to arise: see orient

transitive verb

    1. to end (a pregnancy) prematurely
    2. to cause (an embryo or fetus) to be expelled so as to end a pregnancy
    3. to cause to have an abortion
  1. to check (a disease) before fully developed
  2. ☆ to cut short (an action or operation of an aircraft, spacecraft, etc.), as because of some failure in the equipment

noun

a premature termination of a flight, mission, etc.

See abort in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb a·bort·ed, a·bort·ing, a·borts
verb, transitive
  1. a. To terminate (a pregnancy) by abortion.
    b. To cause the expulsion of (an embryo or fetus) by abortion.
    c. To undergo the abortion of (an embryo or fetus).
    d. To miscarry (an embryo or fetus).
  2. To terminate (an undertaking or procedure) before implementation or completion: abort the launch of a rocket; abort a computer program.
  3. To stop the progress of (a disease, for example).
verb, intransitive
  1. To miscarry.
  2. To cease growth before full development or maturation.
  3. To terminate an operation or procedure before implementation or completion.
noun
The act of aborting an undertaking or procedure.

Origin:

Origin: Latin abortāre

Origin: , frequentative of aborīrī, abort-, to disappear, miscarry

Origin: : ab-, away; see ab-1

Origin: + orīrī, to appear; see er-1 in Indo-European roots

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