oviposit

[ oh-vuh-poz-it, oh-vuh-poz- ]

/ ˌoʊ vəˈpɒz ɪt, ˈoʊ vəˌpɒz- /

verb (used without object)

to deposit or lay eggs, especially by means of an ovipositor.

Nearby words

ovigenesis, ovimbundu, ovine, ovipara, oviparous, oviposit, oviposition, ovipositor, ovisac, ovo-, ovo-lacto-vegetarian

Origin of oviposit

1810–20; ovi- + -posit < Latin positus (see posit)

Related formso·vi·po·si·tion

[oh-vuh-puh-zish-uh n] /ˌoʊ və pəˈzɪʃ ən/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oviposition

Generally, the nest is completed for oviposition during the last of this month, or the beginning of the succeeding.
Nests and Eggs of Birds of The United States|Thomas G. Gentry
The females feed on material that oozes through the oviposition puncture (Roth and Willis, 1954b).
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth
When the business of oviposition commences, they take the eggs from her, and deposit them in their nurseries.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
The oviposition of Dermestes ater DeGeer, with notes on bionomics under laboratory conditions.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth

The female licks up the drop of fluid that oozes from the oviposition puncture.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth

British Dictionary definitions for oviposition

oviposit

/ (ˌəʊvɪˈpɒzɪt) /

verb

(intr) (of insects and fishes) to deposit eggs through an ovipositor

Derived Formsoviposition (ˌəʊvɪpəˈzɪʃən), noun

Word Origin for oviposit

C19: ovi- + positus, past participle of Latin pōnere to place

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