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
-
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:
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
That’s 1,100 miles of left turns around two oval tracks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Leaving an oval space the shape of a head on a pillow, he put the last rosebuds around the oval.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
"This wouldn't be for me," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
A credit-card bill that could dent banks’ profits and erode Visa’s V 0.81%increase; up pointing triangle and Mastercard’s MA 0.82%increase; up pointing triangle dominance has a new champion, and he sits in the Oval Office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The US president has sought to cement his legacy through changes to the White House, including gilded gold leaf accents in the Oval Office, demolition of the East Wing and construction of a ballroom.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
"I'm thinking about it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
That soured his first meeting with Oppenheimer, who was invited to the Oval Office on October 25, 1945, to discuss legislation for domestic control of the atom.
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
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
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
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