aborted; aborting; aborts
1
: to bring forth stillborn, nonviable, or premature offspring
2
: to become checked in development so as to degenerate or remain rudimentary
3
: to terminate a procedure prematurely
the pilot decided to abort due to mechanical difficulties
1
a
: to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely
b
: to terminate the pregnancy of before term
2
a
: to terminate prematurely : cancel
abort a project
abort a spaceflight
b
: to stop in the early stages
abort a disease
aborter
noun
: the premature termination of a flight (as of an aircraft or spacecraft), a mission, or an action or procedure relating to a flight
a launch abort
Examples of abort in a Sentence
Verb
They decided to abort the pregnancy.
abort the launch of a rocket
I suggest that you abort the project.
The mission had to be aborted.
When problems occurred during the launch, it was necessary to abort.
Recent Examples on the Web
Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 24 May 2025
McIntosh's announcement comes just after the U.S. Army temporarily halted helicopter flight operations near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after two commercial aircraft were forced to abort landings due to the presence of an Army Black Hawk helicopter en route to the Pentagon.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 14 May 2025
Despite the restriction, safety concerns persist; even this past Sunday, three commercial flights were ordered to abort landings due to a police helicopter.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
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Verb
The loss of contact resulted in two commercial jets abruptly aborting landings to prevent a potential collision, the outlet reports.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 24 May 2025
McIntosh's announcement comes just after the U.S. Army temporarily halted helicopter flight operations near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after two commercial aircraft were forced to abort landings due to the presence of an Army Black Hawk helicopter en route to the Pentagon.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Noun
Testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee, McIntosh said the issue only came to light after a recent incident forced two commercial flights to abort landings.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 14 May 2025
Despite the restriction, safety concerns persist; even this past Sunday, three commercial flights were ordered to abort landings due to a police helicopter.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
Cite this Entry
“Abort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abort. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
Legal Definition
abort
transitive verb
: to induce the expulsion of (a human fetus)
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