What does "incomplete" mean?

1. (not finished) not finished or missing some parts. 2. (missing floral organs) describes a flower that is missing one or more of its usual parts. 3. (unfinished file or post) a file, image, or post on the internet that has not finished loading or is missing data.

incomplete

adj. · n.

US //ˌɪnkəmˈpɫit// UK //ɪnkəmplˈiːt// in·com·plete

1 not finished (adj.)
B1 Intermediate

not finished or missing some parts.

not having all the necessary or appropriate parts; unfinished.

Example

The construction of the new bridge is still incomplete, so the road remains closed.

Example

The detective found the evidence to be incomplete, as several key witness statements were missing from the final report.
2 missing floral organs (adj.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Botany

describes a flower that is missing one or more of its usual parts.

lacking one or more of the four basic floral organs: sepals, petals, stamens, or pistils.

Example

An incomplete flower might have petals but lack the parts needed to make seeds.

Example

The botanist identified the specimen as an incomplete flower because it lacked a calyx, a common trait in this specific genus.
- complete

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3 unfinished file or post (n.)
C1 Advanced Informal Technical Computing

a file, image, or post on the internet that has not finished loading or is missing data.

a digital file or data set that is partially uploaded or missing segments, often used in file-sharing contexts.

Example

I couldn't open the video because the download was an incomplete.

Example

The server logs indicated that several incompletes were cluttering the directory after the connection timed out during the batch upload.
- fragment
- partial

Origin

From Middle English incomplete, incompleet, from Late Latin incomplētus, from in- (“un-; not”) + complētus (“complete”), equivalent to in- (“not”) + complete.