umbilical cord


noun
  1. Anatomy. a cord or funicle connecting the embryo or fetus with the placenta of the mother and transporting nourishment from the mother and wastes from the fetus.

  2. any electrical, fuel, or other cable or connection for servicing, operating, or testing equipment, as in a rocket or missile, that is disconnected from the equipment at completion.

  1. Aerospace Slang. a strong lifeline by which an astronaut on a spacewalk is connected to the vehicle and supplied with air, a communication system, etc.

Origin of umbilical cord

1
1745–55; 1965–70 for def. 2

Words Nearby umbilical cord

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use umbilical cord in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for umbilical cord

umbilical cord

noun
  1. the long flexible tubelike structure connecting a fetus with the placenta: it provides a means of metabolic interchange with the mother

  2. any flexible cord, tube, or cable used to transfer information, power, oxygen, etc, as between an astronaut walking in space and his spacecraft or a deep-sea diver and his craft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for umbilical cord

umbilical cord

[ ŭm-bĭlĭ-kəl ]


  1. The flexible cord that attaches an embryo or fetus to the placenta. The umbilical cord contains blood vessels that supply nutrients and oxygen to the fetus and remove its wastes, including carbon dioxide.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for umbilical cord

umbilical cord

[ (um-bil-i-kuhl) ]


A ropelike structure that connects a developing embryo or fetus to the placenta. The umbilical cord contains the blood vessels that supply the embryo or fetus with nutrients and remove waste products. Connected to the abdomen of the embryo or fetus, the umbilical cord is cut at birth, leaving a small depression — the navel, or “belly button.”

Notes for umbilical cord

The detaching of the umbilical cord provides a figure of speech for new independence: “He finally cut the umbilical cord and moved out of his parents' home.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.