verb

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

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

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

4. To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages.

5. 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.

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

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

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

9. To terminate a process prior to completion.