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abort

 - 6 dictionary results

a⋅bort

  [uh-bawrt]
Use abort in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to bring forth a fetus from the uterus before the fetus is viable; miscarry.
2. to develop incompletely; remain in a rudimentary or undeveloped state.
3. to fail, cease, or stop at an early or premature stage.
4. Military. to fail to accomplish a purpose or mission for any reason other than enemy action.
5. Rocketry. (of a missile) to stop before the scheduled flight is completed.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to bring forth (a fetus) from the uterus before the fetus is viable.
7. to cause (a pregnant female) to be delivered of a nonviable fetus.
8. to cause to cease or end at an early or premature stage: We aborted our vacation when the car broke down.
9. to terminate (a missile flight, mission, etc.) before completion.
10. to put down or quell in the early stages: Troops aborted the uprising.
–noun
11. a missile, rocket, etc., that has aborted.
Origin:
1570–80; < L abortus miscarried (ptp. of aborīrī to disappear, miscarry) equiv. to ab- ab- + -or- come into being + -tus ptp. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To abort
a·bort   (ə-bôrt')   
v.   a·bort·ed, a·bort·ing, a·borts

v.   tr.

    1. To terminate (a pregnancy) by abortion.

    2. To cause the expulsion of (an embryo or fetus) by abortion.

    3. To undergo the abortion of (an embryo or fetus).

    4. To miscarry (an embryo or fetus).

  2. To terminate (an undertaking or procedure) before implementation or completion: abort the launch of a rocket; abort a computer program.

  3. To stop the progress of (a disease, for example).

v.   intr.

  1. To miscarry.

  2. To cease growth before full development or maturation.

  3. To terminate an operation or procedure before implementation or completion.

n.  The act of aborting an undertaking or procedure.

[Latin abortāre, frequentative of aborīrī, abort-, to disappear, miscarry : ab-, away; see ab-1 + orīrī, to appear; see er-1 in Indo-European roots.]
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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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: abort
Pronunciation: &-'bort
Function: transitive verb
: to induce the expulsion of (a human fetus)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: abort
Pronunciation: &-'bo(&)rt
Function: intransitive verb
: to bring forth premature or stillborn offspring aborted annually for five years> —compare MISCARRY abort transitive senses
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 adisease> —abort·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

abort a·bort (ə-bôrt')
v. a·bort·ed, a·bort·ing, a·borts

  1. To expel or cause to expel an embryo or fetus before it is viable.

  2. To arrest a disease in its earliest stages.

  3. To arrest in growth or development; to cause to remain rudimentary.

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

abort programming
To terminate a program or process abnormally and usually suddenly, with or without diagnostic information. "My program aborted", "I aborted the transmission". The noun form in computing is "abort", not "abortion", e.g. "We've had three aborts over the last two days".
If a Unix kernel aborts it is known as a panic.
(1997-01-07)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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