womb

[woom]

noun

1. the uterus of the human female and certain higher mammals.

2. the place in which anything is formed or produced.

   the womb of time.

3. the interior of anything.

4. Obsolete.,  the belly.

womb

/ wuːm /

noun

1. the nontechnical name for uterus

2. a hollow space enclosing something, esp when dark, warm, or sheltering

3. a place where something is conceived

   the Near East is the womb of western civilization

4. obsolete,  the belly

womb

1. See uterus

Other Word Forms

• wombed adjective
• unwomb verb (used with object)
• womblike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of womb¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English: belly, womb; cognate with Dutch wam, German Wamme, Gothic wamba belly; wamus

Word History and Origins

Origin of womb¹

Old English wamb; related to Old Norse vomb, Gothic wamba, Middle Low German wamme, Swedish våmm

Example Sentences

Wade, he suggested, may channel its efforts toward querying the morality and legality of editing human genes in the womb.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

According to the NHS, one in 90 pregnancies in the UK are ectopic, and occur when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb.

Read more on BBC

She said she was told the bleeding was caused by "blunt trauma" as the bladder was pushed from the womb.

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At first glance, it did seem like children exposed to acetaminophen in the womb were 5% to 7% more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those who weren’t.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One views humans as walking wombs, the other as meat vehicles.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• belly 
• entrails 
• innards