truncate

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verb trun·cate \ˈtrəŋ-ˌkāt, ˈtrən-\

Definition of truncate

truncated

;

truncating

transitive verb
1 : to shorten by or as if by cutting off
2 : to replace (an edge or corner of a crystal) by a plane

truncation

play \trəŋ-ˈkā-shən, trən-\ noun

See truncate defined for English-language learners

truncate was our Word of the Day on 10/08/2016. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of truncate from the Web

The White House tried to challenge the licenses of Florida television stations owned by the Washington Post and was successful in browbeating William Paley, the head of CBS, to truncate a Walter Cronkite special report on Watergate.

— vanityfair.com, "New York Not Impressed By Rahm Emanuel’s Gloating," 5 July 2017
The White House tried to challenge the licenses of Florida television stations owned by the Washington Post and was successful in browbeating William Paley, the head of CBS, to truncate a Walter Cronkite special report on Watergate.

— The Hive, "New York Not Impressed By Rahm Emanuel’s Gloating," 5 July 2017
A rain delay of nearly two hours truncated Trevor Bauer's outing in the series finale against Kansas City.

— zack meisel, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians shuffle rotation again after Sunday's rain delay," 5 June 2017
Even in the days leading up to his departure, Trump asked whether the trip could be truncated.

— kevin liptak and jeff zeleny, CNN, "Trump, feted and chided abroad, returns to uncertainty at home," 28 May 2017

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

First Known Use of truncate

circa 1717

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

truncate

adjective trun·cate

Definition of truncate

: having the end square or even truncate leaves

See truncate defined for kids

Examples of truncate in a Sentence

a truncated version of the 11 o'clock newscast followed the awards show, which ran over its time slot—as it always does

The Connection Between truncate and Trees

Truncate descends from the Latin verb truncare, meaning "to shorten," which in turn can be traced back to the Latin word for the trunk of a tree, which is truncus. Incidentally, if you've guessed that truncus is also the ancestor of the English word trunk, you are correct. Truncus also gave us truncheon, which is the name for a police officer's billy club, and the obscure word obtruncate, meaning "to cut the head or top from."