ab
/æb/ · noun
Meaning
- Abdominal muscle.
- An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.
- To abseil.
- (now rare outside medicine) To miscarry; to bring forth (non-living) offspring prematurely.
- To cause a premature termination of (a fetus); to end a pregnancy before term.
- To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back.
- To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages.
- To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to cease organic growth before maturation; to become sterile.
- To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation.
- The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus; either naturally as a spontaneous abortion (now usually called a miscarriage), or deliberately as an induced abortion.
- An aborted foetus; an abortus.
- A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity.
- Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc.
- Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.
- The cessation of an illness or disease at a very early stage.
- On all sides; around.
- Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
- From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.
- Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
- Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.
- Near; in the vicinity.
- In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.
- Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
- Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
- Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.
- Concerned with; engaged in; intent on.
- Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
- The early stages of; the beginning process; the start.
Etymology / origin
No prose etymology has been added yet.
No ancestor words have been linked yet.
Related words
Descendant words
No descendant words have been linked yet.