estrus
Americannoun
-
the period of heat or rut; the period of maximum sexual receptivity of a female mammal.
noun
-
A regularly recurring period in female mammals other than humans during which the animal is sexually receptive. Estrus occurs around the time of ovulation.
-
Also called heat
Other Word Forms
- estrous adjective
Etymology
Origin of estrus
First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin oestrus oestrus
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.
While it’s well established that lengthening daylight triggers a cat’s estrus, the effect of rising temperatures on kitten season isn’t yet understood.
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2024
Otter moms will often go immediately into estrus if they lose a pup.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2023
In female sheep, the estrus cycle is coordinated by the length of the day and does not begin until day length shortens.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
“We thought, maybe the swamp wallaby is pushing estrus back into pregnancy so it has a longer period of receptivity to find a male in the wild.”
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2020
Even mainstream trainers would drop pennies in mares’ water buckets to halt estrus, or exhaust themselves trying to get a mane that fell to the left—a bad omen—to fall to the right.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
