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

Synonyms & Antonyms for abort

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Verb

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 Despite the urging of doctors to abort most of the fetuses to increase the chances that some would survive, called multifetal reduction, the Kempels refused. — Diane Herbst, PEOPLE.com, 17 June 2022 Ina had tried to abort the baby herself, even, a hand up the girl’s sheath, clawing at the tiny thing inside, but the baby had persisted. — Ottessa Moshfegh, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 But even among other lower-income groups, such as Hispanics, black women still abort at significantly higher rates. — Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 10 May 2022 The 67-year-old took a walk up to take a look at the ball suspended in the air, sized it up and gave it a running start before deciding to abort the attempt. — Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2022 The decision to abort a pregnancy is not reached easily. — Judy Sammon, cleveland, 17 May 2022 Anne’s journey is a tough one, and includes her own attempt to abort with a knitting needle. — Washington Post, 11 May 2022 Following a plan laid out by Kwon on Wednesday, his Terraform Labs company has tried to resume normal function on the blockchain network on Thursday, only to later abort the attempt after just 4,089 new blocks were added to its chain. — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 13 May 2022 Cows who contract Trich generally abort the fetus after breeding, and then clear the infection. — Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 May 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Choose Life works with crisis pregnancy counseling centers that encourage women to give birth rather than abort. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022 Weather at both the launch site and for the downrange abort zones looks fine. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 27 Apr. 2022 They are designed with cameras, guidance systems and abort systems. — Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2022 Sunday's launch marked SpaceX's second Falcon 9 flight since October 2 when a last-second abort blocked launch of a Space Force Global Positioning System navigation satellite. — William Harwood, CBS News, 19 Oct. 2020 Add to that a slate of PR headaches, and Peloton in February was forced to lay off 2,800 global employees and abort plans to build a US factory. — Stephanie Mlot, PCMAG, 10 Mar. 2022 Chemical abortions often occur in private homes far away from medical supervision, meaning women are left to self-abort and cope with any harrowing complications — including potentially life-threatening bleeding or infection — on their own. — Marjorie Dannenfelser, National Review, 18 Feb. 2022 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 See More

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