ab ovo

American

[ahb oh-woh, ab oh-voh] / ɑb ˈoʊ woʊ, æb ˈoʊ voʊ /

adverb

Latin.

from the beginning.

ab ovo British

/ æb ˈəʊvəʊ /

from the beginning

"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

Etymology

Origin of ab ovo

Literally, “from the egg”

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.

But meanwhile Europe had been flooded with literature on the subject, and the whole policy of fortification as well as its minutest details were discussed ab ovo.

From Project Gutenberg

I resolved therefore to begin ab ovo, and giving quarter to no impertinence or absurdity by the way, to clear the ground completely, and leave a perfect rase campagne behind me.

From Project Gutenberg

Those who desire to trace the career of Upper Canada College ab ovo, will be thankful for the following advertisements.

From Project Gutenberg

The banquet wound up with figs, olives, almonds, grapes, tarts and confections, and apples—hence the phrase ab ovo ad mala.

From Project Gutenberg

Too many memoirs begin with tradition; to trace a subject ab ovo seems to have a fatal attraction for the human mind.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023