as in to cancel
to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)
had to abort the mission to Mars when they lost contact with the satellite
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Recent Examples of abort
In May 2024, a jet headed for Boston, accelerating at 100 miles per hour, had to abort its takeoff at Reagan National after another plane was cleared to land on an intersecting runway.
—
David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Although Hague is completing his second spaceflight, the astronaut has actually launched three times: A rocket mishap in 2018 forced him and a Russian crewmate to abort their mission shortly after liftoff.
—NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
The probe comes amid a series of safety incidents and a week after an American Airlines flight arriving at Ronald Reagan airport in Arlington, Virginia, was forced to abort a landing in an effort to avoid another aircraft.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2025
Then there was a close call at Chicago’s Midway International Airport on Tuesday when a Southwest Airlines plane was forced to abort its landing after a private jet entered a runway without authorization.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Although Hague is completing his second spaceflight, the astronaut has actually launched three times: A rocket mishap in 2018 forced him and a Russian crewmate to abort their mission shortly after liftoff.
—NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
The probe comes amid a series of safety incidents and a week after an American Airlines flight arriving at Ronald Reagan airport in Arlington, Virginia, was forced to abort a landing in an effort to avoid another aircraft.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2025
Then there was a close call at Chicago’s Midway International Airport on Tuesday when a Southwest Airlines plane was forced to abort its landing after a private jet entered a runway without authorization.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abort
Verb
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Trump skipped three times during his last presidency (the 2020 affair was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic).—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
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Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer’s World Pride festival in Washington amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions.—
Ashraf Khalil,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At this point, what started as a throwaway joke has grown into something vaguely earnest — too big to fail and too enmeshed in the neighborhood to be abandoned in good conscience.—
Nate Rogers,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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Biden’s Justice Department ultimately abandoned the gambit and left Trump to head to trial, where a jury ordered him to pay $83.3 million.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The media changes celebrated by Trump has raised concerns among some in the industry who fear that access to reporting the truth will become increasingly difficult as credentials are revoked and outlets too favorable of the president may not provide full coverage.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Apr. 2025
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Expunging those records, which international students rely on to remain in the U.S. legally, is different from revoking visas.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Otherwise, the Browns would scrap the trade and take Ward themselves.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
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Authorities are also reportedly debating scrapping the tariff on aircraft leases.—
Chloe Taylor,Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abort. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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