abort

verb

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\ 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

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 If there is a heartbeat, the physician may not abort the child. — Bryan Hughes, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2021 A few years later her mom got pregnant again, with her, and rejected doctors’ advice to abort. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 30 Sep. 2021 According to multiple sources in the company, the safest way to respond to the warning would have been to abort. — Nicholas Schmidl, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2021 On Tuesday, legendary Fleetwood Mac rocker Nicks, 73, announced her reluctant decision to abort a string of upcoming tour dates in Colorado, California, Texas and Louisiana. — Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2021 Based on pilot procedures, Mackay and Masucci had basically two options: implement immediate corrective action, or abort the rocket motor. — Nicholas Schmidl, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2021 Police said messages showed that Daniels asked Robinson to abort the pregnancy months back and then asked for the baby to be put up for adoption. — Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 17 July 2021 The lawsuit accused Zobayan, Bryant’s longtime pilot, of several acts of negligence, including failing to abort the flight, monitoring and assessing the weather, and failing to keep a safe distance between natural obstacles and the helicopter. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2021 Parents often feel pressured to abort babies with Down syndrome. — Jeanne Mancini, National Review, 21 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun It's not known what plans SpaceX might have in place to rescue the Inspiration4 crew if an abort or unplanned landing should happen. — William Harwood, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2021 Instead, even as fires rose around the three cores, the rocket stayed put during a hotfire abort. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 30 Sep. 2020 After examining the data, Virgin Galactic released information saying the abort was due to a bad computer connection and there was no hardware issue. — Valerie Stimac, Forbes, 22 May 2021 The abort system has been successfully tested three times in flight. — William Harwood, CBS News, 9 July 2021 The abort system has been successfully tested in flight to mimic failures during the most stressful regimes of flight. — William Harwood, CBS News, 7 June 2021 The spacecraft is also equipped with an abort system designed to jettison the New Shepard capsule and passengers away from the rocket in case of emergency. — Jackie Wattles, CNN, 10 June 2021 While the odds of an in-flight abort are remote, flight rules require acceptable off-shore conditions before a Crew Dragon is cleared for launch. — William Harwood, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2021 The company said the abort was triggered by electromagnetic interference from a flight computer system that caused the motor to shut down. — Washington Post, 22 May 2021

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 2

Noun

noun derivative of abort entry 1

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