nevus
Americannoun
plural
nevinoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nevus
1685–95; spelling variant of Latin naevus mole
Explanation
A nevus is a mark on the skin, like a mole or a birthmark. Many people are born with a nevus somewhere on their bodies. Can you find yours? Whether you have a strawberry birthmark on your cheek, or a series of tiny moles dotting your shoulders, you can say you have a nevus. This word is most often used by doctors, including dermatologists (skin doctors), who like to keep an eye on nevi (which is the plural form of nevus). Every once in a while, a nevus will develop a malignancy, or become cancerous. The Latin root of nevus is gnaevus, "born in," or "birthmark."
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.
And while one hesitates to say “in spite of,” Ms. Naud has cultivated a healthy career in genre films with a very prominent nevus, or birthmark, under her right eye.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
Mr Rhodes was born with a large facial birthmark as a result of congenital melanocytic nevus and was left with scarring following multiple surgeries to remove it as a child.
From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024
“Moles are not superficial — the nevus cells are down in the dermis,” said Robert T. Brodell, a tenured professor and chair of the dermatology department at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
From Washington Post • Jan. 26, 2022
He had a nevus - a little overgrowth of cells just over the iris of his eye - how on Earth could it have been replicated, she wondered.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2018
Because his hair was shorter in the back, I could now see a nevus on his neck.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
