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ablator

 - 5 dictionary results

ab⋅la⋅tor

  [a-bley-ter]
Use ablator in a Sentence
–noun Aerospace.
See under ablation (def. 3).
Origin:
ablate + -or 2

ab⋅la⋅tion

  [a-bley-shuhn]
–noun
1. the removal, esp. of organs, abnormal growths, or harmful substances, from the body by mechanical means, as by surgery.
2. the reduction in volume of glacial ice, snow, or névé by the combined processes of melting, evaporation, and calving. Compare alimentation (def. 3).
3. Aerospace. erosion of the protective outer surface (ablator) of a spacecraft or missile due to the aerodynamic heating caused by travel at hypersonic speed during reentry through the atmosphere.
Origin:
1570–80; < LL ablātiōn- (s. of ablātiō). See ablate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ab·la·tion   (ā-blā'shən)   
n.  

  1. Surgical excision or amputation of a body part or tissue.

  2. The erosive processes by which a glacier is reduced.

  3. Aerospace

    1. The dissipation of heat generated by atmospheric friction, especially in the atmospheric reentry of a spacecraft or missile, by means of a melting heat shield.

    2. The reduction or removal of heat-protective surface material by aerodynamic friction, as from a heat shield.


[Late Latin ablātiō, ablātiōn-, from Latin ablātus, past participle of auferre, to carry away : ab-, away; see ab-1 + lātus, carried; see telə- in Indo-European roots.]
ab·la'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ab·la·tion
Pronunciation: a-'blA-sh&n
Function: noun
: the process of ablating; especially : surgical removal
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

ablation ab·la·tion (ā-blā'shən)
n.
Removal of a body part or the destruction of its function, as by a surgery, disease, or noxious substance.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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