abort

1 of 2

verb

ə-ˈbȯrt 

aborted; aborting; aborts

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

1

a

: to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely

b

: to terminate the pregnancy of before term

2

a

: to terminate prematurely : cancel

abort a project

abort a spaceflight

b

: to stop in the early stages

abort a disease

aborter noun

abort

2 of 2

noun

: 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

Synonyms

Verb

• cancel
• abandon
• revoke
• scrap

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

Ultramarathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey aborted her 24-mile swim from Sandy Point State Park to the Baltimore harbor because of high winds Tuesday. —Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2025

The Gulf’s swelling economic and diplomatic clout has corresponded with interests replacing ideology as the chief driver of foreign policy, as illustrated by the remarkable (though ultimately aborted) negotiations toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 May 2025

Noun

There was even a scare less than an hour before liftoff when SpaceX had to troubleshoot loading data into the new Crew Dragon needed in case of an emergency abort after launch. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2025

China carried out a successful pad abort test early Tuesday for its next-generation crew spacecraft for moon and low-Earth orbit missions, Space News reports. —ArsTechnica, 20 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

Verb

1540, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1944, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abort

• airport
• alport
• athwart
• carport
• comport
• consort
• deport
• distort
• escort
• exhort
• extort
• forecourt

Kids Definition

abort

verb

ə-ˈbȯrt

1

: to bring forth premature or stillborn offspring

2

: to become checked in development

3

: to put an end to before completion

abort a project

Medical Definition

abort

intransitive verb

ə-ˈbȯ(ə)rt 

: to bring forth premature or stillborn offspring

the patient aborted spontaneously

compare miscarry

transitive verb

1

a

: to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely

b

: to terminate the pregnancy of before term

2

: to stop in the early stages

abort a disease

aborter noun

Legal Definition

abort

transitive verb

ə-ˈbȯrt 

: to induce the expulsion of (a human fetus)