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ablated; ablating
: to remove or destroy especially by cutting, abrading, or evaporating
: to become ablated
especially
: vaporize sense 1
Examples of ablate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On entering the Earth's atmosphere on a trajectory to mimic that of a lunar return at 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h), sections of the shield were charred and hadn't ablated as designed.
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David Szondy, New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2024
The Orion heat shield is designed to ablate, or char, during re-entry when the spacecraft enters Earth's atmosphere at more than 25,000 mph.
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William Harwood, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2024
Most of the time, once the cells are ablated, the AFib is gone, Allison said.
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Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman, 30 May 2024
If an abnormal pathway is found, it can be ablated (destroyed) using radiofrequency energy or cryotherapy.1819
Implantable Devices
Pacemakers are small devices implanted under the skin to help control abnormal heart rhythms.
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Mary Choy, Verywell Health, 5 Sep. 2024
Ablative treatments: These treatments use extreme heat or cold to ablate (destroy) bone tumors.
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Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024
Falling spacecraft gradually ablate — the technical term for burning up — about 40 miles above the ground, in the mesosphere, which sits above the stratosphere.
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Ramin Skibba, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2024
As the capsule streaked back into Earth's atmosphere at the end of the mission, the heat shield ablated, or burned off, in a different manner than predicted by computer models.
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Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 Apr. 2024
The heat shield is designed to ablate, or char, during re-entry heating when returning from the moon at speeds of more than 25,000 mph.
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William Harwood, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2024
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Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin ablātus (suppletive past participle of auferre "to carry away, remove"), from ab- ab- + lātus, suppletive past participle of ferre "to bear" — more at bear entry 2, tolerate
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of ablate was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near ablate
Cite this Entry
“Ablate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ablate. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
ablate
verb
ab·late
a-ˈblāt
ablated; ablating
: to remove or become removed by cutting, wearing away, evaporating, or vaporizing
Medical Definition
ablate
transitive verb
ab·late
a-ˈblāt
ablated; ablating
: to remove or destroy especially by cutting or abrading
ablate diseased tissue
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