Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Abort

//əˈbɔːt// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An early termination of a mission, action, or procedure in relation to missiles or spacecraft; the craft making such a mission.

    "We've had aborts on three of our last seven launches."

  2. 2
    the act of terminating a project or procedure before it is completed wordnet
  3. 3
    The function used to abort a process.
  4. 4
    An event in which a process is aborted.

    "We've had three aborts over the last two days."

  5. 5
    The product of a miscarriage; an aborted offspring; an abortion. archaic
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion. obsolete

    "In Japonia 'tis a common thing to stifle their children if they be poor, or to make an abort, which Aristotle commends."

Verb
  1. 1
    To miscarry; to bring forth (non-living) offspring prematurely. intransitive, regional

    "Women have aborted, men have committed suicide, and both men and women have been thrown into convulsions during the fearful agony of renal colic."

  2. 2
    terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion wordnet
  3. 3
    To cause a premature termination of (a fetus); to end a pregnancy before term. intransitive, transitive

    ""Of course, you can't abort yourself...I mean you positively can't be allowed to. To begin with it's a crime.""

  4. 4
    cease development, die, and be aborted wordnet
  5. 5
    To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back. transitive
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    terminate before completion wordnet
  2. 7
    To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages. intransitive
  3. 8
    To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to cease organic growth before maturation; to become sterile. intransitive
  4. 9
    To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation. transitive
  5. 10
    To abandon a mission at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion. intransitive

    "First he aborts the take-off and now we have a runway incursion!"

  6. 11
    To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely. transitive
  7. 12
    To terminate a process prior to completion. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English, from Latin abortus, perfect active participle of aborior (“miscarry”), formed from ab + orior (“come into being”). Doublet of abortus.

Etymology 2

From Latin abortare, from abortus, from aboriri (“miscarry”), from ab- (“not”) + oriri (“come into being, arise, appear”).

See also for "abort"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: abort