abort

verb

\ə-ˈbȯrt

aborted; aborting; aborts

Definition of abort

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to bring forth stillborn, nonviable, or premature offspring

2 : to become checked in development so as to degenerate or remain rudimentary

3 : to terminate a procedure prematurely the pilot decided to abort due to mechanical difficulties

transitive verb

1a : to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely

b : to terminate the pregnancy of before term

2a : to terminate prematurely : cancel abort a project abort a spaceflight

b : to stop in the early stages abort a disease

abort

noun

Definition of abort (Entry 2 of 2)

: the premature termination of a flight (as of an aircraft or spacecraft), a mission, or an action or procedure relating to a flight a launch abort

Other Words from abort Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about abort

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Synonyms & Antonyms for abort

Synonyms: Verb

abandon, call, call off, cancel, cry off, drop, recall, repeal, rescind, revoke, scrap, scrub

Antonyms: Verb

continue, keep

Examples of abort in a Sentence

Verb

They decided to abort the pregnancy. abort the launch of a rocket I suggest that you abort the project. The mission had to be aborted. When problems occurred during the launch, it was necessary to abort.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Carter, 93, said 160 million girls and women are not alive today because their parents killed their daughters at birth or aborted them as fetuses because of laws and customs that favor sons. — Kate Sullivan, CNN, "Jimmy Carter says discrimination against women and girls is the world's biggest problem," 19 May 2018 Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican of Washington, who gave birth to three children while in Congress, cited her son’s Down syndrome to object to those who would abort fetuses with the condition. — Susan Chira, New York Times, "Mom Is Running for Office," 14 Apr. 2018 In the report, Harvey said rumors that Conrad prematurely aborted the 2013 investigation, or that Fischer interfered with the 2016 probe, were false. — Andrew Wolfson, The Courier-Journal, "Report: Louisville police erred in Explorer sex abuse scandal case," 27 June 2018 Moreover, other low-income ethnic minorities who experience discrimination, such as Hispanics, abort at rates much closer to white women than black women. — Jason L. Riley, WSJ, "Let’s Talk About the Black Abortion Rate," 10 July 2018 The flowers are simply aborting and dropping off without setting fruit. — Dan Gill, NOLA.com, "Are your tomato plant's flowers dropping? Here's why.," 26 May 2018 The Cruise car aborted the lane change and returned to the middle lane. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "GM settles with motorcyclist struck by Cruise self-driving car," 4 June 2018 Earlier this month, two trustees tried to call an emergency meeting of the executive committee, citing concerns about Dunn’s leadership, only to quickly abort the plan. — Dawn Rhodes, chicagotribune.com, "SIU trustees to consider ousting president, but details on why are lacking," 21 June 2018 Does lacking good nutrition through winter and spring sometimes will self-abort if their physical condition significantly deteriorates during their 200-day gestation term. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Texas summer a key factor in wildlife cycle," 17 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

However, this abort test will be its last, one way or another. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Blue Origin Is About to Test Its Astronaut-Saving Emergency System," 8 Sep. 2016 This morning the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center tweeted: There is NO threat to general public from catastrophic abort during static test fire at SpaceX launch pad at CCAFS this morning. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "4 Things You Need to Know About SpaceX's Launchpad Disaster," 1 Sep. 2016 In less than a year, a boilerplate model of the Orion spacecraft will be jettisoned from its rocket at 55 seconds after liftoff to test the vehicle’s launch abort system. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "NASA’s Orion spacecraft getting closer to finally flying again," 8 May 2018 Yesterday at Kennedy Space Center, with 58 seconds left on the countdown clock, an automatic abort halted the maiden flight of SpaceX's Block 5 rocket, the newest and most powerful version of the Falcon 9. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Block 5 Lifts Off—SpaceX's Newest Rocket (Updated)," 11 May 2018 In some abort scenarios the company has simulated, the Starliner spacecraft has tumbled. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft may not become operational until 2020," 1 May 2018 There was no delay of weeks or longer that such an abort would cause other launchers. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Can't Hire International Rocket Scientists Even If It Wants To," 28 Sep. 2016 SpaceX is reviewing the data to determine what triggered the Falcon 9's abort procedure. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Scrubs Falcon 9 Block 5 Launch for Today (Updated)," 10 May 2018 With less than a minute remaining before a scheduled launch, the countdown came to an abrupt stop because of a technical problem that caused an automatic abort. — Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, "SpaceX successfully launches rocket one day after failed attempt," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abort.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for abort

Verb

in part borrowed from Latin abortus, past participle of aborīrī "to pass away, be lost, (of a fetus) miscarry, be aborted, (of a woman) miscarry," from ab- ab- + orīrī "to rise, come into existence, be born"; in part borrowed from Late Latin abortīre and abortīrī "(of a woman) to miscarry," derivatives of Latin aborīrī — more at orient entry 1

Noun

noun derivative of abort entry 1

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