Looking for the meaning or definition of the word abort? Here's what it means.
Noun
(obsolete) A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17th century.]
(now rare) The product of a miscarriage; an aborted offspring; an abortion. [First attested in the early 17th century.]
(military, aeronautics) An early termination of a mission, action, or procedure in relation to missiles or spacecraft; the craft making such a mission.
(computing) An event involving the abort of a process.
Verb
(medicine) To miscarry; to bring forth (non-living) offspring prematurely. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]
(transitive, intransitive) To cause a prematuretermination of (a fetus); to end a pregnancy before term. [Attested since at least the 19th century.]
(transitive) To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back. [First attested in the late 16th century.]
(intransitive) To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages. [First attested in the late 16th century.]
(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 19th century.]
(biology) To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation. [First attested in the mid 19th century.]
(intransitive, military) To abandon a mission at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion. [First attested in the mid 20th century.]
(transitive, aeronautics) To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely. [First attested in the mid 20th century.]
