oval
adjective
having the general form, shape, or outline of an egg; egg-shaped.
oval
American
[oh-vuhl]
/ ˈoʊ vəl /
adjective
-
having the general form, shape, or outline of an egg; egg-shaped.
-
ellipsoidal or elliptical.
noun
-
ovals
plural
-
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.
oval
1
British
/ ˈəʊvəl /
adjective
noun
Oval
2
British
/ ˈəʊvəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ovalnessnoun
-
semiovalnessnoun
-
half-ovaladjective
-
pseudoovaladjective
-
semiovaladjective
-
ovallyadverb
-
pseudoovallyadverb
-
semiovallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oval
1560–70; < New Latin ōvālis, equivalent to Latin ōv ( um ) egg 1 + -ālis -al 1
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.
See Examples For:
Crisp lines appear in Rosales’ art, but the shape of “East of the River” is a lively oval.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
It has a roughly oval shape and a prominent depression near its south pole.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The event is being managed by the organizers of the IndyCar championship, the US motorsport whose cars resemble Formula One vehicles but often compete on oval tracks, including at the flagship Indianapolis 500 race.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
At a Knicks–Pacers game, she took photos of everything on a digital camera, and she wore nonrecording oval cat-eye sunglasses on her Citi Bike date with Timothée Chalamet.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Everyone sat around a large oval conference table, and, trying not to upset Kat, Brooklyn waited until the others had taken their seats to make sure she didn’t sit in the wrong one.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
When he walked off he turned and raised his bat amid a standing ovation from The Oval crowd – as Pietersen famously did 21 years ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
A typical pool day at the White House can include covering several events in the Oval Office or other parts of the White House, and last many hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
A divided appeals court panel later paused that ruling for the Oval Office, Air Force One and other restricted spaces, allowing the White House to keep the AP out of them while the case proceeds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
"They turned off the escalator," Trump said last week in the Oval Office.
From Barron's
Early that evening, Nixon, Kissinger, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman sat in armchairs in the Oval Office, yellow legal pads on their knees.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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
One species they were interested in but dropped for this reason was leopard sharks, a striking fish adorned with spots and dark ovals stretched in neat rows across its back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
I also found a box of twelve smooth brown ovals.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
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.
