Background for ab

ab

/æb/

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noun

Abdominal muscle.

Examples :

"My grandmother uses her ab muscles to help her get up from the couch. "

anatomy body physiology

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noun

An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.

Examples :

"The doctor examined the addict's arm, concerned that the painful swelling might be an ab. "

medicine disease body

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verb

Examples :

"The rock climbers had to ab down the cliff after reaching the summit. "

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verb

(now rare outside medicine) To miscarry; to bring forth (non-living) offspring prematurely.

Examples :

"The cow seemed healthy, but sadly, she abed in the early weeks of her pregnancy. "

medicine family sex biology

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verb

To cause a premature termination of (a fetus); to end a pregnancy before term.

Examples :

"The doctor decided to ab the pregnancy due to severe health risks to the mother. "

medicine sex body action

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verb

To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back.

Examples :

"The project was going well, but due to budget cuts, the team had to ab the research after only a few weeks. "

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verb

To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages.

Examples :

"The student abbed at learning the multiplication tables because she got frustrated after only trying for a few minutes. "

achievement action business

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verb

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.

Examples :

"The neglected seedling, without enough sunlight or water, began to ab, its tiny leaves withering instead of growing. "

physiology organism biology anatomy function

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verb

To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation.

Examples :

"Overcrowding in the small fish tank will ab the growth of the guppies, preventing them from reaching their full size. "

physiology biology organism

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verb

To abandon a mission at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion.

Examples :

"Because the storm worsened unexpectedly, the mountain rescue team had to ab their climb. "

military action

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verb

To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely.

Examples :

"Due to a malfunction during launch, mission control had to ab the rocket. "

military technology action

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verb

To terminate a process prior to completion.

Examples :

"The programmer had to ab the software installation when the computer ran out of disk space. "

computing process technology

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noun

Examples :

"The doctor confirmed the pregnancy test was positive, but sadly, she later experienced an abortion in her first trimester. "

medicine physiology family body sex society law human

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noun

An aborted foetus; an abortus.

Examples :

"The pathology lab received several specimens, including an ab for testing and further analysis. "

medicine body biology anatomy sex

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noun

A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity.

Examples :

"The twisted, gnarled branch on the old apple tree was an ab in the otherwise symmetrical orchard. "

appearance thing person

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noun

Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc.

Examples :

"The company's ab of the new product launch disappointed many investors. "

outcome business achievement plan

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noun

Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.

Examples :

"The doctor suspected a severe vitamin deficiency caused an ab in the fetus's developing spine, leading to serious complications at birth. "

medicine physiology anatomy biology disease organ

Illustration ab - Image 1

noun

The cessation of an illness or disease at a very early stage.

Examples :

"The doctor was optimistic, stating the infection showed signs of ab after just one day of antibiotics. "

medicine disease

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adverb

On all sides; around.

Examples :

"I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me."

direction space place

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adverb

Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.

Examples :

"Bits of old machinery were lying about."

place direction

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adverb

From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.

Examples :

"walking about; rushing about; jumping about; thrashing about"

direction action way

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adverb

Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.

Examples :

"messing about; fooling about; loafing about"

attitude character action style

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adverb

Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.

Examples :

"The movie was ab a masterpiece; the acting was superb, and the story was captivating. "

amount degree quality time

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adverb

Near; in the vicinity.

Examples :

"We searched ab about the old oak tree, looking for clues about the missing cat. "

place position direction

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adverb

To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view.

Examples :

"to face about; to turn oneself about"

direction position

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adverb

In succession; one after another; in the course of events.

Examples :

"The students completed their assignments ab, one by one, handing them in to the teacher. "

time event way process

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adverb

In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.

Examples :

"a mile about, and a third of a mile across"

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preposition

In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.

Examples :

"The snake was coiled about his ankle."

place position area direction

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preposition

Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.

Examples :

"He was well known about town."

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preposition

Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.

Examples :

"The train is ab to leave. "

time future plan language

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preposition

Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.

Examples :

"He talked a lot about his childhood."

language grammar

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preposition

Concerned with; engaged in; intent on.

Examples :

"She was always ab reading and rarely socialized. "

attitude mind philosophy

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preposition

Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.

Examples :

"The grocery store is ab the post office. "

place position space

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preposition

On one's person; nearby the person.

Examples :

"I had no weapon about me but a stick."

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preposition

In or near, as in mental faculties or in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.

Examples :

"He has his wits about him."

mind ability attitude character

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noun

The early stages of; the beginning process; the start.

Examples :

"The project is still in its ab; we are just gathering ideas. "

process stage time