ovum
Americannoun
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Cell Biology.
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the female reproductive cell or gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, usually only after fertilization, into a new individual.
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the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.
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Architecture. an oval ornament, as in an egg-and-dart molding.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ovum
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin ōvum egg 1; cognate with Greek ōión
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Vocabulary lists containing ovum
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.
Just as the human being emerges from the fertilized ovum, the creation of the possible is a natural gift and phenomenon we have been given as human beings.
From Salon • Jan. 20, 2025
The second was what's called a "blighted ovum" where a gestational sac was found, but no embryo was developing.
From BBC • Oct. 22, 2021
Let us take a ride, For truly, sir, thy life is incomplete ’Til viridescent ovum thou hast tried Together with a slice of glaucous meat!
From Washington Post • May 16, 2019
When a sperm and ovum combine during fertilization, the result is a single cell with a full set of genes, called the zygote.
From Slate • Sep. 18, 2018
Lanning considered, “If you had all your equipment—the brain, the skeleton, the ovum, the proper hormones and radiations—say, two months.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
