abort

[ uh-bawrt ]

verb (used without object)

1. to bring forth a fetus from the uterus before the fetus is viable; miscarry.
2. to develop incompletely; remain in a rudimentary or undeveloped state.
3. to fail, cease, or stop at an early or premature stage.
4. Military. to fail to accomplish a purpose or mission for any reason other than enemy action.
5. Rocketry. (of a missile) to stop before the scheduled flight is completed.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to bring forth (a fetus) from the uterus before the fetus is viable.
2. to cause (a pregnant female) to be delivered of a nonviable fetus.
3. to cause to cease or end at an early or premature stage:

   We aborted our vacation when the car broke down.

4. to terminate (a missile flight, mission, etc.) before completion.
5. to put down or quell in the early stages:

   Troops aborted the uprising.

noun

1. a missile, rocket, etc., that has aborted.

abort

/ əˈbɔːt /

verb

1. to undergo or cause (a woman) to undergo the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable
2. tr to cause (a fetus) to be expelled from the womb before it is viable
3. intr to fail to come to completion; go wrong
4. tr to stop the development of; cause to be abandoned
5. intr to give birth to a dead or nonviable fetus
6. (of a space flight, military operation, etc) to fail or terminate prematurely
7. intr (of an organism or part of an organism) to fail to develop into the mature form

noun

1. the premature termination or failure of (a space flight, military operation, etc)

Other Words From

• una·borted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of abort¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin abortus “miscarried,” past participle of aborīrī “to disappear, miscarry,” equivalent to ab- ab- + orīrī “to rise, come into being”; orient ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of abort¹

C16: from Latin abortāre, from the past participle of aborīrī to miscarry, from ab- wrongly, badly + orīrī to appear, arise, be born

Example Sentences

They also noted the Air Force ability and willingness to abort an attack if it becomes clear that there are “civilians in the target zone.”

From Salon

Norris had been 0.031 seconds quicker than Verstappen on their first laps, but the Dutchman had started his final lap much better than the Briton, only for both to have to abort.

From BBC

Verstappen was then 0.2secs quicker than Norris in the first sector on their second runs - and Norris was slower there than on his first run - before they both had to abort.

From BBC

Miller was smart to want to abort her pregnancy before it got to the point where she was near death.

From Salon

They especially hate Kate Cox, a Texas woman who had to travel out of state to abort a pregnancy because the fetus had a rare genetic disorder that usually kills the baby within a few days of birth.

From Salon

Related Words

• break off
• cut off
• halt
• interrupt
• nullify
• scrap
• scrub
• terminate