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Dictionary Language resources

ablation

Pronunciation: /əˈbleɪʃ(ə)n/

Definition of ablation

noun

[mass noun]

1the surgical removal of body tissue.

2the removal of snow and ice from a glacier or iceberg by melting or evaporation.
the erosion of rock, typically by wind action.
the loss of surface material from a spacecraft or meteorite through evaporation or melting caused by friction with the atmosphere.

Derivatives

ablate

Origin:

late Middle English (in the general sense 'taking away, removal'): from late Latin ablatio(n-), from Latin ablat- 'taken away', from ab- 'away' + lat- 'carried' (from the verb ferre)