fetus

American  

[fee-tuhs] / ˈfi təs /

especially British, foetus

noun

Embryology.

plural

fetuses

1. (used chiefly of viviparous mammals) the young of an animal in the womb or egg, especially in the later stages of development when the body structures are in the recognizable form of its kind, in humans after the end of the second month of gestation.

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fetus British  

/ ˈfiːtəs /

noun

1. the embryo of a mammal in the later stages of development, when it shows all the main recognizable features of the mature animal, esp a human embryo from the end of the second month of pregnancy until birth Compare embryo

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fetus Scientific  

/ fē′təs /

1. The unborn offspring of a mammal at the later stages of its development, especially a human from eight weeks after fertilization to its birth. In a fetus, all major body organs are present.

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fetus Cultural  

1. The embryo of an animal that bears its young alive (rather than laying eggs). In humans, the embryo is called a fetus after all major body structures have formed; this stage is reached about sixty days after fertilization.

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Etymology

Origin of fetus

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin fētus “bringing forth of young,” hence “that which is born, offspring, young still in the womb,” equivalent to fē- (verb base attested in Latin only in noun derivatives, as fēmina “woman,” fēcundus “fertile,” fīlius “son,” fīlia “daughter,” etc.; compare Greek thēsthai “to suck, milk,” Old High German tāan “to suck,” Old Irish denid “(he) sucks,” Slavic (Polish) doić “to milk” + -tus suffix of verb action; fecund

Example Sentences

Scientists have shown that this ratio reflects the balance of estrogen and testosterone a fetus is exposed to during the first trimester of pregnancy.

From Science Daily • Feb. 10, 2026

Cells from older biological siblings—or even the mother’s relatives—can end up inside the fetus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

Quadros’s research has found that a specific autoantibody blocks the transport of folate from mother to fetus during pregnancy and when present after birth, the infant’s brain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025

The medical consensus is that it should only be used to battle high fevers that can be dangerous for both the mother and the developing fetus.

From Salon • Sep. 22, 2025

In an extreme scenario the first settlers are pictured as having consisted of a single pregnant young woman carrying a male fetus.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond