fetus

[ fee-tuhs ]

See synonyms for fetus on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural fe·tus·es.Embryology.

(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.

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; see fecund

Also especially British, foe·tus .

Compare embryo (def. 1).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fetus in a sentence

As did their fetuses, including those of the four women who were in their last trimester.
The Only Thing More Terrifying Than Ebola Is Being Pregnant With Ebola | Kent Sepkowitz, Abby Haglage | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
To be sure, there are wackos on the anti-choice side, with their photos of fetuses and extreme rhetoric.
Ten Reasons Women Are Losing While Gays Keep Winning | Jay Michaelson | July 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
At early genetic testing, 99 percent of fetuses are normal when a woman is 35, and 97 percent at 40.
The Crumbling Post-35 Pregnancy Myth | Jean Twenge | June 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Benzene causes cancer, thins the blood to cause symptoms resembling hemophilia, and damages fetuses exposed to it.
Pollution Is a Violent Crime—Prosecute It as Such | Jedediah Purdy | May 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
That said, these are not the same folks shouting “God Hates Fags” and carrying pictures of aborted fetuses.
How Anti-Gay Will Mississippi’s ‘New’ Religious Freedom Bill Be? | Jay Michaelson | March 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

One of the earliest recorded operations for the extractions of two dead fetuses from the womb is clearly described in chapter 76.
Drawings and Pharmacy in Al-Zahrawi's 10th-Century Surgical Treatise | Sami Hamarneh
Eclamptic women, and those who have nephritis, are most likely to have undeveloped fetuses.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation | Austin O'Malley
A woman who has given birth to a monster is likely to have subsequent monstrous fetuses.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation | Austin O'Malley
Superfetation has occurred by coition during pregnancy, and this results commonly in abortion and the death of both fetuses.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation | Austin O'Malley
Fetuses were dead and were not appreciably larger than the one of the same clutch in the egg opened on July 31.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus | Henry S. Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for fetus

fetus

foetus

/ (ˈfiːtəs) /

nounplural -tuses

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 (def. 2)

Origin of fetus

C14: from Latin: offspring, brood

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

Scientific definitions for fetus

fetus

[ fē′təs ]

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.

Other words from fetus

fetal adjective

Cultural definitions for fetus

fetus

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.

Browse