A*bort" (&adot;*bôrt"), v. i. [L. abortare, fr. abortus, p. p. of aboriri; ab + oriri to rise, to be born. See Orient.]

1. To miscarry; to bring forth young prematurely.

2. (Biol.) To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to become sterile.

A*bort", n. [L. abortus, fr. aboriri.] 1. An untimely birth. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.

2. An aborted offspring. [Obs.] Holland.

• A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion.
  
• The product of a miscarriage; an aborted offspring; an abortion.
        Note: As with the more modern "abortion" this can refer either to the process or the result of the process.
  
• (computing) The function used to abort a process.
  
• (computing) An event involving the abort of a process.
        We've had three aborts over the last two days.
  
• (intransitive) To miscarry; to bring forth something prematurely.
  
• (transitive) To cause a premature termination whether of a foetus or more generally of anything that has been begun.
  
• (intransitive) (biology) To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to become sterile.
  
• (transitive) (computing) To terminate a process prior to completion.