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

Early this morning, a Russian Soyuz booster carrying two people to the International Space Station malfunctioned, forcing NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to abort and make an emergency landing in their space capsule. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Ballistic Reentry: How Astronauts Survive a Failed Launch," 11 Oct. 2018 Some women choose to abort so their child will not have to suffer. — Jennifer Wright, Harper's BAZAAR, "Anti-Abortion Activists Are Still Defending Forced Birth with Debunked Science," 26 Jan. 2019 The southern residents are enduring a high rate of reproductive failure, and K27 has been documented to have aborted a fetus in recent years. — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "Another southern resident orca is ailing — and at least three whales are pregnant," 25 Sep. 2018 Doctors would also be allowed to abort if the fetus is determined to have a defect that would lead to its death in the womb or shortly after birth. — Washington Post, "AP Explains: What to look for in Irish abortion referendum," 25 May 2018 The successful takeoff comes one day after the company was forced to abort its first launch attempt. — Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, "SpaceX successfully launches satellite with new upgraded 'Block 5' Falcon 9 rocket," 11 May 2018 Outlaw country legend Willie Nelson was forced to abort a concert after just a single song on Saturday night due to breathing difficulties, and now the 84-year-old has canceled upcoming dates for this week. — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, "Willie Nelson Cancels Upcoming Shows After Suffering Breathing Problems," 9 Jan. 2018 This could let investors and companies determine the size and timing of initial public offerings, a key reform aborted post-2015. — Shen Hong, WSJ, "China Counters Selloff by Cutting Markets Some Slack," 24 Jan. 2019 And up next, a ‘ Washington Post’ columnist, check this out, advocates aborting children with Down syndrome, and the Vatican is misrepresenting a letter from Pope Benedict to the media. — Fox News, "GOP chair says they will sue Chicago public schools for supporting political student walkout," 15 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Moreover, a recent report from the US Government Accountability Office raised concerns about tumbling with some Starliner abort scenarios. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Boeing suffers a setback with Starliner’s pad abort test [Updated]," 21 July 2018 If memory is marked as not being present at all, the processor stops performing any further permissions checks and immediately triggers the page fault mechanism: this means that the abort page mechanics aren't used. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Intel’s SGX blown wide open by, you guessed it, a speculative execution attack," 14 Aug. 2018 The module must have the same shape and approximate mass distribution of the real Orion so that the abort tests are accurate. — Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle, "Orion test module headed to Johnson Space Center to be prepped for test of emergency systems," 27 Feb. 2018 This booster struck the core when it was supposed to fall away during launch, triggering a launch abort. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "NASA chief says agency plans to launch crew on Soyuz in December," 23 Oct. 2018 Boeing was conducting a test fire of the Starliner’s launch abort engines. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Boeing delays first crucial test flights of its new passenger spacecraft again," 1 Aug. 2018 Immediately, the Soyuz capsule initiated its abort sequence, separated from the rest of the rocket, and performed a ballistic reentry — when a vehicle comes in much steeper than a normal descent. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Today’s failed Soyuz launch complicates the future of the International Space Station," 11 Oct. 2018 To ensure the abort test's accuracy, the simplified module must have the same shape and approximate mass distribution of the real Orion. — Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle, "NASA's Johnson Space Center preps Orion module for test of emergency systems," 25 Apr. 2018 The failure immediately prompted the vehicle’s emergency abort system, causing the capsule carrying the crew to separate from the rocket. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Three astronauts will launch to space on Monday — two months after botched flight," 2 Dec. 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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