ovary

[ oh-vuh-ree ]

/ ˈoʊ və ri /

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noun, plural o·va·ries.

Anatomy, Zoology. the female gonad or reproductive gland, in which the ova and the hormones that regulate female secondary sex characteristics develop.Compare testis.

Botany. the enlarged lower part of the pistil in angiospermous plants, enclosing the ovules or young seeds.

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Origin of ovary

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin ōvārium; see ovum, -ary

OTHER WORDS FROM ovary

pseud·o·va·ry, noun, plural pseud·o·va·ries.

Words nearby ovary

ovaries, ovariole, ovariotomy, ovaritis, ovarium, ovary, ovate, ovation, ovel, oven, ovenable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ovary in a sentence

Using stem cells, they were able to mimic the entire process of how ovaries make eggs.
Scientists Bred Healthy Mice Using Artificial Eggs and Ovaries Made From Stem Cells|Shelly Fan|July 27, 2021|Singularity Hub
Over the next five years, the ovary produces viable eggs, which the team extracts and fertilizes on a regular basis.
What 20th century science fiction got right and wrong about the future of babies|Robin Marantz Henig|July 15, 2021|Science News
In 1872, an American surgeon, Robert Battey, removed the ovaries of 23-year-old Julia Omberg to treat disabling exhaustion that he blamed on her lack of menstrual periods.
How medicine sought to control women’s bodies while ignoring their symptoms|Susan Okie|July 2, 2021|Washington Post
At last, scientists and doctors learned how the ovaries actually worked, what triggered a menstrual period, why women go through menopause.
How medicine sought to control women’s bodies while ignoring their symptoms|Susan Okie|July 2, 2021|Washington Post

It seems ridiculous now to imagine physicians once believed that women’s nerves were too highly strung for them to receive an education and that their ovaries would become inflamed if they read too much.
Medical Myths About Gender Roles Go Back to Ancient Greece. Women Are Still Paying the Price Today|Elinor Cleghorn|June 17, 2021|Time
If the pollen should fall upon the ovary now it would roll off without entering, and would be wasted.
Every Girl's Book|George F. Butler
The single pistil is many times enlarged in the monstrous blossom—in one instance two thirds of an inch in diameter for the ovary.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
In Echinus, on the other hand, where the polar bodies are formed in the ovary, the male pronucleus is always small.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
The development of the Elasmobranch ovary has recently formed the subject of three investigations.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
In the next oldest ovary, of which I have sections, the breadth of the ovarian epithelium is 0.7 mm.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for ovary

ovary

/ (ˈəʊvərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

either of the two female reproductive organs, which produce ova and secrete oestrogen hormones

the corresponding organ in vertebrate and invertebrate animals

botany the hollow basal region of a carpel containing one or more ovules. In some plants the carpels are united to form a single compound ovary

Derived forms of ovary

ovarian (əʊˈvɛərɪən), adjective

Word Origin for ovary

C17: from New Latin ōvārium, from Latin ōvum egg

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ovary

ovary

[ ō′və-rē ]

The reproductive organ in female animals that produces eggs and the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. In most vertebrate animals, the ovaries occur in pairs. In mammals, the ovaries contain numerous follicles, which house the developing eggs (oocytes). See more at menstrual cycle ovulation.

The part of a carpel or of a gynoecium made of fused carpels that contains the ovules in a flower. The ovary is located at the base of the carpel and ripens into a fruit after fertilization of one or more of the ovules. See more at flower.

Other words from ovary

ovarian adjective (ō-vâr′ē-ən)