having the general form, shape, or outline of an egg; egg-shaped.
ellipsoidal or elliptical.
an object of oval shape.
a body or plane figure that is oval in shape or outline.
an elliptical field or a field on which an elliptical track is laid out, as for athletic contests.
Informal. a football.
1560–70; < New Latin ōvālis, equivalent to Latin ōv ( um ) egg 1 + -ālis -al 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her ring has seven small oval diamonds and a wave design which she says illustrate life's inevitable highs and lows.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Harris not only excels on the oval, but also on the gridiron.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
That’s 1,100 miles of left turns around two oval tracks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
The human doctor with 40 years of experience was right—the small oval in my right breast didn’t look “suspicious.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
The bedroom, formed by the second oval, was warm but dark, even at midday.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Both meetings took place in the Oval Office without the presence of reporters, and while few details were disclosed about the discussion, the White House described the sessions as “positive and productive.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
And during heated exchanges in the Oval Office in February that year, both raised their voices during an argument in the full glare of television cameras.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
He was impressed by heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine during an Oval Office meeting last month before the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match at the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The sides will also play three T20s starting on 3 July - at Trent Bridge, The Oval and Old Trafford - and three one-day internationals beginning on 13 July, at Southampton, Lord's and Edgbaston.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
At nine o’clock in the morning on June 24, Strauss and his charges were ushered into Eisenhower’s presence inside the Oval Office.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The Pettit National Ice Center, in Milwaukee, is one of two Olympic-grade long-track ovals in the entire U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
The orange ovals here show how a perfect circle on the globe is distorted depending on where it is located.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
Schumacher will compete in his first oval races, with six ovals on the 17-race IndyCar schedule, including the feature Indianapolis 500 next May 24.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
The dark ovals, when seen, are almost always located just below the bright auroral zones at each pole, which are akin to Earth's northern and southern lights.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2024
The patterns on the snakes’ skins were perfect, repeating endlessly in coils and stripes and ovals and diamonds, in all the colors of the island.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
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.
