oval

American  

[oh-vuhl] / ˈoʊ vəl /

adjective

1. having the general form, shape, or outline of an egg; egg-shaped.

2. ellipsoidal or elliptical.

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noun

1. an object of oval shape.

2. a body or plane figure that is oval in shape or outline.

3. an elliptical field or a field on which an elliptical track is laid out, as for athletic contests.

4. Informal. a football.

oval ¹ British  

/ ˈəʊvəl, əʊˈvælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. having the shape of an ellipse or ellipsoid

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noun

1. anything that is oval in shape, such as a sports ground

Oval ² British  

/ ˈəʊvəl /

noun

1. a cricket ground in south London, in the borough of Lambeth

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Other Word Forms

• half-oval adjective
• ovally adverb
• ovalness noun
• pseudooval adjective
• pseudoovally adverb
• semioval adjective
• semiovally adverb
• semiovalness noun

Etymology

Origin of oval

1560–70; < New Latin ōvālis, equivalent to Latin ōv ( um ) egg ¹ + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

They also have an oval tooth patch and striking red eyes with a black pupil bordered by a thin gold ring.

From Science Daily

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie told parliament that the government was confident that greyhound racing "on oval tracks exposes dogs to significant risks that cannot be eliminated by other measures".

From BBC

This wasn’t easy, as his father’s chest was scarred from an old wound, so Torak only managed a lopsided oval.

From Literature

Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that a black hole and a neutron star collided while moving along an oval shaped orbit instead of the near perfect circles scientists usually expect before such mergers.

From Science Daily

I pull a few more train tracks out of the box and start building a little circle next to his lopsided oval track.

From Literature

Related Words

• elliptical