ab ovo

[ ahb oh-woh; English ab oh-voh ]

/ ɑb ˈoʊ woʊ; English æb ˈoʊ voʊ /

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adverb Latin.

from the beginning.

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of ab ovo

Literally, “from the egg”

Words nearby ab ovo

aboveground, abovementioned, above suspicion, above the law, above the line, ab ovo, abp., abr., abracadabra, abrachia, abrachiocephalia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ab ovo in a sentence

“Ab Welsh, who was a forward with the Saskatoon Quakers was the first one,” Howe said.
Gordie Howe Hockey’s Greatest War Horse|W.C. Heinz|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Manning the flight was Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the 50-year-old pilot, and his 27-year-old first mate Officer Fariq Ab Hamid.
Up To Speed On Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|Caitlin Dickson|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On 27 July 2013, AB Neubauer reported that she was sexually assaulted the previous evening.
Spies, Lies, and Rape in the Air Force: An Undercover Agent's Story|Jacob Siegel|March 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An AB is a muscle found on magazine covers, an AD in the mag says Virginia's For Lovers.
National Scrabble Day: A Poem So You’ll Know All 101 Two-Letter Words|David Bukszpan|April 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The ABT has a saying on the inside, “If you ever disrespect the AB, we will make sure you leave in a body bag.”
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas: ‘Brutal, Deadly, and Effective’|Seth Ferranti|April 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Aunty Rosa sat him upon a table and told him that A B meant ab.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Ab eo igitur tpore Patres nostros perhumaniter habuit, atque honorific in omnibus, mensque benign accepit.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
I do not think that Lancelot was ab origine the hero of a variant of this popular and widely-spread folk-tale.
The Three Days' Tournament|Jessie L. Weston
Et idem Johannes nullam partem artium prædictarum ab apprenticio suo concelabit.
The Influence and Development of English Gilds|Francis Aiden Hibbert
Such slaves were called in general terms librri, more accurately serv ab epistols, serv man, or manunss.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for ab ovo

ab ovo

/ Latin (æb ˈəʊvəʊ) /

from the beginning

Word Origin for ab ovo

literally: from the egg

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