abort
    n 1: the act of terminating a project or procedure before it is
         completed; "I wasted a year of my life working on an
         abort"; "he sent a short message requesting an abort due to
         extreme winds in the area"
    v 1: terminate before completion; "abort the mission"; "abort
         the process running on my computer"
    2: cease development, die, and be aborted; "an aborting fetus"
    3: terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion

Abort \A*bort"\ ([.a]*b[^o]rt"), v. i. [L. abortare, fr.
   abortus, p. p. of aboriri; ab + oriri to rise, to be born.
   See Orient.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To miscarry; to bring forth young prematurely.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Biol.) To become checked in normal development, so as
      either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to
      become sterile.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. to stop, cease, or fail prior to normal completion.
      [PJC]

Abort \A*bort"\ ([.a]*b[^o]rt"), v. t.
   to cause (an action or process) to stop at an early stage, or
   before normal completion; as, to abort a rocket flight.
   [PJC]

Abort \A*bort"\, n. [L. abortus, fr. aboriri.]
   1. An untimely birth. [Obs.] --Sir H. Wotton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An aborted offspring. [Obs.] --Holland.
      [1913 Webster]

abort

    To terminate a program or process abnormally
   and usually suddenly, with or without diagnostic
   information.  "My program aborted", "I aborted the
   transmission".  The noun form in computing is "abort", not
   "abortion", e.g. "We've had three aborts over the last two
   days".

   If a Unix kernel aborts it is known as a panic.

   (1997-01-07)