pregnant
1 Americanadjective
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having a child or other offspring developing in the body; with child or young, as a woman or female mammal.
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fraught, filled, or abounding (usually followed bywith ).
a silence pregnant with suspense.
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teeming or fertile; rich (often followed byin ).
a mind pregnant in ideas.
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full of meaning; highly significant.
a pregnant utterance.
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of great importance or potential; momentous.
a pregnant moment in the history of the world.
adjective
adjective
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carrying a fetus or fetuses within the womb
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full of meaning or significance
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inventive or imaginative
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prolific or fruitful
Other Word Forms
- pregnantly adverb
- pregnantness noun
Etymology
Origin of pregnant1
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin praegnant- (stem of praegnāns ), variant of praegnās, equivalent to prae- pre- + *gnāt- (akin to ( g ) nātus born, gignere to bring into being) + -s nominative singular ending
Origin of pregnant2
1350–1400; Middle English preignant < Old French, present participle of preindre, earlier priembre to press 1 < Latin premere. Cf. print
Explanation
If you are pregnant, you are carrying a developing baby in your body. If you are pregnant it is important to take excellent care of your health — it's good for tyou and good for the baby. Pregnant comes from Latin, and literally means "before giving birth" — prae-, like pre- means "before" and gnasci is a root that means "be born." Pregnant can also mean "filled with something," like inspiration or "rich in significance or implication," like your pregnant pause before answering your friend's question, "You like my new boyfriend, don't you?"
Vocabulary lists containing pregnant
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan are all pregnant, while Morwenna Talling has been ruled out of the tournament with a leg injury sustained in the opening-weekend win over Ireland.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
His wife was pregnant when they put their belongings in storage and moved to New York for “Sweeney Todd.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
“DOGE canceled funds for several research projects, which could save countless Black mothers,” Davis said, pointing to research at the Morehouse School of Medicine to improve the health outcomes of pregnant and postpartum women.
From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026
But Calli Hauger-Thackery managed it while 22 weeks pregnant on Monday - and points to the race as an "incredible" and "more meaningful" moment in her career.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
Little eight-year-old me cried tears of happiness when I learned my mom was pregnant and I was going to have a little brother.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
