English▸ verb [with object]
1 carry out or undergo the abortion of (a fetus):
the decision to abort the fetus
[no object] many doctors assume that women who undergo testing would choose to abort.
▪ [no object] (of a pregnant woman or female animal) have a miscarriage, with loss of the fetus:
an organism that infects sheep and can cause pregnant ewes to abort.
▪ [no object] Biology (of an embryonic organ or organism) remain undeveloped; fail to mature.
▸ noun informal or technical an act of aborting a flight, space mission, or other enterprise:
there was an abort because of bad weather.
– ORIGIN mid 16th century : from Latin aboriri ‘miscarry’, from ab- ‘away, from’ + oriri ‘be born’.