egg

¹ American  

[eg] / ɛg /

noun

• eggs
  plural

1. the roundish reproductive body produced by the female of certain animals, as birds and most reptiles, consisting of an ovum and its envelope of albumen, jelly, membranes, egg case, or shell, according to species.

2. such a body produced by a domestic bird, especially the hen.

3. the contents of an egg or eggs: fried eggs.

   raw egg;

   fried eggs.

4. anything resembling a hen's egg.

5. Also called egg cell. the female gamete; ovum.

6. Informal. person.

   He's a good egg.

7. Slang. an aerial bomb.

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verb (used with object)

1. to prepare (food) by dipping in beaten egg.

idioms

1. put all one's eggs in one basket, to venture all of something that one possesses in a single enterprise.

2. lay an egg, to fail wretchedly, especially to be unsuccessful in front of an audience.

   He laid an egg as the romantic hero.

3. egg on one's face, humiliation or embarrassment resulting from having said or done something foolish or unwise.

   They were afraid to back the losing candidate and wind up with egg on their faces.

4. walk on eggs, to walk or act very cautiously.

egg ² American  

[eg] / ɛg /

verb (used with object)

1. to incite or urge; encourage (usually followed byon ).

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egg ¹ British  

/ ɛɡ /

noun

1. the oval or round reproductive body laid by the females of birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and some other animals, consisting of a developing embryo, its food store, and sometimes jelly or albumen, all surrounded by an outer shell or membrane

2. Also called: egg cell. any female gamete; ovum

3. the egg of the domestic hen used as food

4. something resembling an egg, esp in shape or in being in an early stage of development

5. old-fashioned

   1. a bad person

   2. an exclamation of dismay

6. old-fashioned

   1. a good person

   2. an exclamation of delight

7. slang

   1. to make a joke or give a performance, etc, that fails completely

   2. (of a joke, performance, etc) to fail completely; flop

8. to stake everything on a single venture

9. to presume to teach someone something that he knows already

10. informal made to look ridiculous

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verb

1. to dip (food) in beaten egg before cooking

2. informal to throw eggs at

egg ² British  

/ ɛɡ /

verb

1. to urge or incite, esp to daring or foolish acts

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egg Scientific  

/ ĕg /

1. The larger, usually nonmotile female reproductive cell of most organisms that reproduce sexually. Eggs are haploid (they have half the number of chromosomes as the other cells in the organism's body). During fertilization, the nucleus of an egg cell fuses with the nucleus of a sperm cell (the male reproductive cell) to form a new diploid organism. In animals, eggs are spherical, covered by a membrane, and usually produced by the ovaries. In some simple aquatic animals, eggs are fertilized and develop outside the body. In some terrestrial animals, such as insects, reptiles and birds, eggs are fertilized inside the body but are incubated outside the body, protected by durable, waterproof membranes (shells) until the young hatch. In mammals, eggs produced in the ovaries are fertilized inside the body and (except in the cases of monotremes) develop in the reproductive tract until birth. The human female fetus possesses all of the eggs that she will ever have; every month after the onset of puberty, one of these eggs matures and is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube, where it is either fertilized or discarded during menstruation. In many plants (such as the bryophytes, ferns, and gymnosperms) eggs are produced by flasked-shaped structures known as archegonia. In gymnosperms and angiosperms, eggs are enclosed within ovules. In angiosperms, the ovules are enclosed within ovaries.

2. See also oogenesis

3. In many animals, a structure consisting of this reproductive cell together with nutrients and often a protective covering. The embryo develops within this structure if the reproductive cell is fertilized. The egg is often laid outside the body, but the female of ovoviviparous species may keep it inside the body until after hatching.

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egg Cultural  

1. A female gamete.

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egg More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing egg

• bad egg
• good egg
• goose egg
• kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
• lay an egg
• put all one's eggs in one basket
• walk on eggs

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Pronunciation

Egg, like beg, leg, and other words where “short e” precedes a “hard g” sound, is pronounced with the vowel of bet and let, except in parts of New England and the South Midland and southern U.S., where these words are frequently said with , to rhyme with vague and plague, especially in the speech of the less educated. This raising of to a higher vowel , articulated with the upper surface of the tongue closer to the palate, also occurs before , as in measure, pleasure, and treasure.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• eggless
  adjective
• eggy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• eggs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of egg¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English eg(ge), from Old Norse egg; replacing Middle English ey, aig, Old English ǣg, German Ei; akin to Latin ōvum, Greek ōión “egg”

Origin of egg²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English eggen, from Old Norse eggja “to incite, urge on,” derivative of egg edge

Explanation

An egg is the shell-covered, roundish object that's laid by birds and reptiles, which usually has an embryo inside. When an egg hatches, a baby chick, snake, or lizard comes out. Fertile eggs are the ones that become animals, while those laid by infertile birds are the kind you eat, scrambled or fried, for breakfast. The ovum, a reproductive cell in female animals, including humans, is also an egg. Colloquially, if you "lay an egg," you make a total mess of something, and if you "have egg on your face," you look foolish. If, however, you're considered a "good egg," you're a pal or a nice person.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

egg eggs

The exhibition brings together original Giger artwork depicting the alien egg and an original facehugger from the 1979 film, the spidery parasite whose method of reproduction helped make “Alien” a landmark of body horror.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

What’s a favorite Easter egg you tucked into the book for Christie fans?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

This is a practical example of how to save money on taxes while also freeing up funds to bolster your retirement nest egg.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Toss them with egg noodles and add a swirl of sour cream or labneh and you have something that starts edging toward weeknight stroganoff.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

To quicken the egg, take it outside at midnight on the night of the next full moon.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

The most volatile grocery item, however, can be found in the refrigerated dairy section: eggs.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

The olive ridleys chose two particularly high-traffic spots to deposit their eggs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

A rare snail found in just one lake in the UK started laying eggs on its six-hour journey from Wales to Kent, as a zoo joined a nationwide effort to save the species.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Sea turtles have been sighted laying eggs on the sand in Huntington Beach — the first known instance of a sea turtle of any species spontaneously nesting on the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Chica was tired because she’d swum hundreds of kilometers and laid ninety-nine eggs.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr