Definition
To terminate a preplanned aircraft maneuver; e.g., an aborted takeoff.
Plain English
To stop something you had planned to do, before it is completed, because conditions or judgment say it should not continue.
Context Anchor
Used during takeoffs, landings, approaches, and other planned actions when the safest choice is to stop before completing them.
Derivation
From the Latin 'aboriri', meaning 'to fail' or 'to miscarry'. In aviation it carries the sense of stopping a procedure before it reaches its intended outcome — not because of failure of intent, but because continuing would be unsafe or unwise.
Why Pilots Care
Deciding to abort at the correct moment prevents runway overruns, collisions, or loss of control; many accidents have occurred when pilots hesitated to abort.
Analogy
Like slamming on the brakes in a car after starting to pull out because an obstacle suddenly appears ahead.
Intuition Check
Abort does not mean the aircraft has crashed or that the pilot has lost control. In aviation, it usually means a deliberate decision to stop a planned action before it is completed.
Example Sentence 1
The captain aborted the takeoff when a warning light illuminated during the roll.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot aborted the approach after receiving a wind shear alert and flew the published missed approach procedure.