the young of a viviparous animal, especially of a mammal, in the early stages of development within the womb, in humans up to the end of the second month.
the rudimentary plant usually contained in the seed.
any multicellular animal in a developmental stage preceding birth or hatching.
the beginning or rudimentary stage of anything.
He charged that the party policy was socialism in embryo.
an animal in the early stages of development following cleavage of the zygote and ending at birth or hatching
the human product of conception up to approximately the end of the second month of pregnancy Compare fetus
a plant in the early stages of development: in higher plants, the plumule, cotyledons, and radicle within the seed
an undeveloped or rudimentary state (esp in the phrase in embryo )
something in an early stage of development
an embryo of an idea
An animal in its earliest stage of development, before all the major body structures are represented. In humans, the embryonic stage lasts through the first eight weeks of pregnancy. In humans, other placental mammals, and other viviparous animals, young born as embryos cannot thrive. In marsupials, the young are born during the embryonic stage and complete their development outside the uterus, attached to a teat within the mother's pouch.
The developing young of an egg-laying animal before hatching.
The sporophyte of a plant in its earliest stages of development, such as the miniature, partially developed plant contained within a seed before germination.
What does embryo- mean? Embryo- is a combining form used like a prefix representing the word embryo. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in anatomy and biology. Embryo- ultimately comes from the Greek émbryos, meaning “ingrowing.”What are variants of embryo-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, embryo- becomes embry-, as in embryectomy.
The term is occasionally used to denote a new or developing idea or project: “The idea for the complete theory was already present in his work, in embryo form, in 1950.”
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin embryo, embryon-, from Greek émbryon, noun use of neuter of émbryos “ingrowing,” equivalent to em- “in” + bry- (stem of brýein “to swell”) + -os adjective suffix; em- 2
An embryo is an animal in the phase after fertilization but before birth or hatching. Embryos still live in the womb or egg. Do you remember when you were an embryo? Probably not, because you were just a tiny clump of cells in your mother's womb — you weren't born yet. All animals were embryos at one point: it's a very early stage of life. Another meaning is not as literal: the beginning of an idea could be called an embryo, as in, "My plan for ice-skating robots is still in the embryo stage." That means the idea isn't very developed.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs, retrieving them, fertilising them in a laboratory and then implanting the resulting embryo back into the womb.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
This means that when a child conceived using egg, sperm or embryo donation reaches 18, they may choose to learn some of their donor's identifiable information and try to contact them.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
“I quickly did two rounds back-to-back of embryo freezing with my fiancé,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
In late 2023, CooperSurgical recalled three lots of embryo culture solution used for in vitro fertilization.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
In a volley of pathbreaking papers published between 1986 and 1990, Nüsslein-Volhard and her colleagues definitively identified several of the factors that provide the signal for “headness” and “tailness” in the embryo.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Due to a change in UK law in 2005, it is not possible to donate sperm, eggs or embryos anonymously.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
In Egli’s study, nearly 80% of embryos became mosaics, meaning if those embryos grew into babies, they would likely still have cells with the disease-causing mutations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Investigations showed the solution was missing magnesium, which caused embryos to stop developing, degrade, or die.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Multiple planetary embryos emerge at roughly the same time and gradually evolve over millions of years into full planets.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2026
“No time for the intellectual embryos, I’m afraid. We must go up to the Nurseries before the children have finished their afternoon sleep.”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
