truncate

Truncate means to shorten something by removing part of it.

You can truncate something by removing the beginning of it, the end of it, the top of it, or another part of it. In scientific and medical contexts, truncating often involves cutting off a part of something in a way that’s parallel to its base (or perpendicular to its side).

In the context of math, to truncate is to shorten a number by dropping some of the digits after the decimal place. For example, 1.524 can be truncated to 1.5.

Less commonly, truncate can be used as an adjective with the same meaning as truncated—shortened, as if having had a portion cut off.

Example: When they originally released the movie, they truncated the ending, but they’re planning to release the full version soon.

The first records of the word truncate come from the late 1400s. It comes from the Latin verb truncāre, “to lop” or “to cut off.” Truncāre comes from the Latin truncus, which means “stem,” “stump,” or “trunk,” and is also the basis of the word trunk, as in the trunk of a tree.

You can truncate a trunk of a tree by chopping it down to the stump, but truncate isn’t commonly applied to physical things. It’s most often used to refer to shortening intangible things, such as a schedule or a piece of writing, as in This last part is a bit long, so we’ll have to truncate it to stay within the word count. 

As an adjective, truncate is used in a more specialized way in biology, in which it’s used to describe a part of an organism, such as the leaf of a plant, that looks like it has been cut off at the tip. The word truncated can also be used to describe the same thing.

What are some other forms related to truncate?

• truncated (past tense verb, adjective)
• truncation (noun)
• truncately (adverb)

What are some synonyms for truncate?

• shorten
• abbreviate
• abridge
• cut short

What are some words that share a root or word element with truncate? 

• trunk

What are some words that often get used in discussing truncate?

• version
• cut
• short
• schedule
• season
• severely
• full

Truncate can be used in all kinds of contexts, but it’s most often applied to intangible things.

Dear @ABCPolitics,

No one wants to watch another debate between 10 people where responses are truncated to 60 second sound bites. Please split up the debates to two groups of 5 even if no one else qualities.

Sincerely, Everyone.

— Ross 🍎 (@RossVarner) August 22, 2019

This article is about how truncating vs rounding is a CHOICE, and one that can lead to better or worse results, depending on what you want

Yeah sure I'll always prefer truncating (so "2+2=4" is always true) if I'm buying the meat being weighed

Not so much if I'm selling it

— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) August 1, 2020

@JasonHirschhorn @pmarca 140 character limit forces us to truncate thoughts efficiently rather than type for hours (like on Medium/Facebook)

— Nick Abouzeid (@nickabouzeid) September 3, 2015

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of truncate?

A. abridge
B. abbreviate
C. protract
D. shorten