amputation
Americannoun
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the act or instance of surgically removing a limb or part of a limb.
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the act of removing something by cutting, as if by surgery.
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a disability caused by the loss of a limb or part of a limb.
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Medicine/Medical. any absence or loss of a limb or part of a limb, whether congenitally or due to surgery or disease.
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.
Lindsey Vonn is less than two months removed from a skiing accident at the Milan-Cortina Olympics that almost resulted in the amputation of her left leg.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
In a video shared on Monday, she explained her numerous injuries and the surgery that allowed her to avoid an amputation.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
After 32 weeks in hospital, several cardiac arrests and a quadruple amputation, sepsis survivor Manjit Sangha has finally returned home.
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
A resident underwent an unnecessary amputation after being too afraid to seek timely medical care, according to court documents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
But Woolf knew that infection and amputation were the least of his worries.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
