amputate

A1M3P3U1T1A1T1E1
/ˈæmpjʊteɪt/

verb

To cut off, to prune.

“Several soldiers had limbs amputated after the battle.”

Similar
cut off
OriginLatin amputō →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

verbamputate (third-person singular simple present amputates, present participle amputating, simple past and past participle amputated)

present singular third person amputates · participle present amputating · participle past amputated · past amputated

  1. obsoleteTo cut off, to prune.
  2. To surgically remove a part of the body, especially a limb.

    Several soldiers had limbs amputated after the battle.

    1 more example

    The surgeon had to amputate the patient’s leg to save his life.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbremove surgically

Similar
cut off
Broader
removetaketake away
Also see
cut off

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinamputō“prune, cut away”
  2. Englishamputate

From Latin amputō (“prune, cut away”). The original sense of pruning (a tree, etc.) became obsolete. The OED considers uses related to anything other than an animal limb to be figurative uses of the modern sense.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀποκόπτω
  • ἀποκόπτω (apokóptō)to surgically remove a body part
Arabic بَتَرَ
  • بَتَرَ (batara)to surgically remove a body part
Bulgarian ампути́рам
  • ампути́рам (amputíram)to surgically remove a body part
Catalan amputar
  • amputarto surgically remove a body part
Chinese Mandarin 截肢, 切斷 /切断
  • 截肢 (jiézhī)to surgically remove a body part
  • 切斷 /切断 (qiēduàn)to surgically remove a body part
Czech amputovat
  • amputovatto surgically remove a body part
Dutch afzetten, amputeren
  • afzettento surgically remove a body part
  • amputerento surgically remove a body part
Finnish amputoida
  • amputoidato surgically remove a body part
French amputer
  • amputerto surgically remove a body part
German amputieren
  • amputierento surgically remove a body part
Greek ακρωτηριάζω
  • ακρωτηριάζω (akrotiriázo)to surgically remove a body part
Italian amputare
  • amputareto surgically remove a body part
Japanese 切断する
  • 切断する (setsudan suru)to surgically remove a body part
Korean 절단하다
  • 절단하다 (jeoldanhada)to surgically remove a body part
Māori pōuto
  • pōutoto surgically remove a body part
Polish amputować
  • amputowaćto surgically remove a body part
Portuguese amputar
  • amputarto surgically remove a body part
Romanian amputa
  • amputato surgically remove a body part
Russian ампути́ровать
  • ампути́ровать (amputírovatʹ)to surgically remove a body part
Slovak amputovať
  • amputovaťto surgically remove a body part
Spanish amputar
  • amputarto surgically remove a body part
Swedish amputera
  • amputerato surgically remove a body part
Tagalog gapungin
  • gapunginto surgically remove a body part
Turkish ampüte etmek
  • ampüte etmekto surgically remove a body part
Ukrainian ампутува́ти
  • ампутува́ти (amputuváty)to surgically remove a body part
Cite this entry
APA

amputate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amputate

MLA

“amputate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amputate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “amputate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amputate.

Source: amputate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.