- an operation or other procedure to terminate pregnancy before the fetus is viable
- the premature termination of pregnancy by spontaneous or induced expulsion of a nonviable fetus from the uterus
- the products of abortion; an aborted fetus
- a failure to develop to completion or maturity
- a thing that is badly formed
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•bor•tion /əˈbɔrʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Surgery[uncountable] the ending of a pregnancy before term.
- Surgery[countable] a procedure for ending a pregnancy before term.
a•bor•tion
(ə bôr′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- MedicineAlso called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
- Medicineany of various surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, esp. during the first six months.
- Medicine, PathologyAlso called spontaneous abortion. miscarriage (def. 3).
- Pathologyan immature and nonviable fetus.
- Medicine, Pathologyabortus (def. 2b).
- Pathologyany malformed or monstrous person, thing, etc.
- Developmental Biology[Biol.]the arrested development of an embryo or an organ at a more or less early stage.
- Medicinethe stopping of an illness, infection, etc., at a very early stage.
- Informal Terms
- shambles;
mess. - anything that fails to develop, progress, or mature, as a design or project.
- shambles;
- Latin abortiōn- (stem of abortiō). See abort, -ion
- 1540–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
abortion /əˈbɔːʃən/ n
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'abortion' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abortion pill
- abortive
- abortifacient
- backstreet
- D and C
- pro-choice
- pro-life
- prostaglandin
- termination
- aborticide
- abortionist
- abortion-on-demand
- antiabortion
- antichoice
- antilife
- contagious abortion
- Dalkon Shield
- Enovid
- feticide
- intact dilatation and extraction
- menstrual extraction
- miscarriage
- New Right
- partial-birth abortion
- proabortion
- profamily
- progesterone
- right-to-life
- therapeutic abortion
- vibriosis
- voluntary abortion
- wedge issue
- zoom
- saline
- spontaneous abortion
