abort

Noun

1. An early termination of a mission, action, or procedure in relation to missiles or spacecraft; the craft making such a mission.
2. The function used to abort a process.
3. An event in which a process is aborted.
4. (archaic) The product of a miscarriage; an aborted offspring; an abortion.
5. (obsolete) A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion.

Verb

1. (intransitive, regional) To miscarry; to bring forth (non-living) offspring prematurely.
2. (intransitive, transitive) To cause a premature termination of (a fetus); to end a pregnancy before term.
3. (transitive) To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back.
4. (intransitive) To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages.
5. (intransitive) 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.
6. (transitive) To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation.
7. (intransitive) To abandon a mission at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion.
8. (transitive) To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely.
9. (transitive) To terminate a process prior to completion.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈbɔːt/

Etymology

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

Synonyms

miscarry

fail

have an abortion

stop

🛑

cancel

abortion

interrupt

cease

discontinue

suspend

terminate

discard

abandon

adjourn

quash

quit

unsuccessful

break off

of no avail

intermit

close

dart

🎯

decompose

disannul

discolour

disconnect

discontinuation

discontinuity

drop

drop out

end

🔚

expel

fall

fall through

foil

forestall

forsake

frustrate

halt

have a miscarriage

hiatus

hop

hurl

hurt

inhibit

intercept

interject

interpellation

interruption

jump