ablation

American  

[a-bley-shuhn] / æˈbleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the removal, especially of organs, abnormal growths, or harmful substances, from the body by mechanical means, as by surgery.

2. the reduction in volume of glacial ice, snow, or névé by the combined processes of melting, evaporation, and calving.

3. Aerospace. erosion of the protective outer surface ablator of a spacecraft or missile due to the aerodynamic heating caused by travel at hypersonic speed during reentry through the atmosphere.

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ablation British  

/ æbˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the surgical removal of an organ, structure, or part

2. the melting or wearing away of an expendable part, such as the heat shield of a space re-entry vehicle on passing through the earth's atmosphere

3. the wearing away of a rock or glacier

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ablation Scientific  

/ ă-blā′shən /

1. The wearing away or destruction of the outer or forward surface of an object, such as a meteorite or a spacecraft, as it moves very rapidly through the atmosphere. The friction of the air striking the object heats and often melts or burns its outer layers. Spacecraft and missiles are often equipped with heat shields designed to wear away by ablation in order to prevent heat from building up in structurally important parts.

2. The process by which snow and ice are removed from a glacier or other mass of ice. Ablation typically occurs through melting, sublimation, wind erosion, or calving.

3. ◆ The ablation zone is the area of a glacier that has the lowest elevation, where annual water loss is greater than the annual accumulation of snow.

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Etymology

Origin of ablation

First recorded in 1570–80, ablation is from the Late Latin word ablātiōn- (stem of ablātiō ). See ablate, -ion

Explanation

An ablation is removing a body part, organ, or tissue surgically. If a doctor takes out one of your kidneys, that's an ablation. This Latinate noun from the little-used verb ablate refers to the surgical removal of tissue from someone's body. This is a general term that applies to the surgical removal of any part of the patient's body. If an oncologist is removing a cancerous growth, that's an ablation. If a limb is being amputated, that's an ablation. If a dentist pulls out a tooth, that's an ablation. The other kind of ablation is also a reduction: the melting of glaciers.

Example Sentences

Laser therapy, or laser ablation, is a procedure done under local anaesthetic where a laser burns away the abnormal cells.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026

Farapulse is a catheter ablation technology using PFA, or pulsed field ablation.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

The company said Tuesday that its cardiac ablation products have a “near-term line of sight” to adding $1 billion in revenue to its base business.

From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025

Harbaugh had ablation procedures done in 1999 and 2012 to address his previous arrhythmias.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2024

Like its Soviet predecessors, the Viking landing maneuver involved an ablation shield, a parachute and retro-rockets.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• depletion
• depreciation
• erosion