Abort

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /əˈbɔːt/
• US IPA: /əˈbɔɹt/

From Middle English, from Latin abortus, perfect active participle of aborior ("miscarry"), formed from ab + orior ("come into being").

Full definition of abort

Noun

1. (obsolete) A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion. Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17^th century.
• 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.2.4.vi:In Japonia 'tis a common thing to stifle their children if they be poor, or to make an abort, which Aristotle commends.
2. (now rare) The product of a miscarriage; an aborted offspring; an abortion. First attested in the early 17^th century.
3. (military, aeronautics) An early termination of a mission, action, or procedure in relation to missiles or spacecraft; the craft making such a mission.We've had aborts on three of our last seven launches.
4. (computing) The function used to abort a process.
5. (computing) An event involving the abort of a process.We've had three aborts over the last two days.

From Latin abortare, from abortus, from aboriri ("miscarry"), from ab- ("not") + oriri ("come into being, arise, appear").

Verb

1. (intransitive) To miscarry; to bring forth offspring prematurely. First attested in the mid 16^th century.
2. (transitive) To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back. First attested in the late 16^th century.
3. (intransitive) To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages. First attested in the late 16^th century.
4. (intransitive, biology) To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to cease organic growth before maturation; to become sterile. First attested in the mid 19^th century.
5. (transitive, biology) To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation. First attested in the mid 19^th century.
6. (intransitive, military) To fail or abandon a mission for any reason other than enemy action. It may occur at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion. First attested in the mid 20^th century.
7. (transitive, aeronautics) To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely. First attested in the mid 20^th century.
8. (transitive) To cause a premature termination of a foetus; to bring forth offspring prematurely; to end a pregnancy before term.
9. (transitive, computing) To terminate a process prior to completion.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• boart, tabor