ovum
Americannoun
plural
ova-
Cell Biology.
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the female reproductive cell or gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, usually only after fertilization, into a new individual.
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the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.
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Architecture. an oval ornament, as in an egg-and-dart molding.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ovum
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin ōvum egg 1; cognate with Greek ōión
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Vocabulary lists containing ovum
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.
The ovum was seen through a microscope in 1827.
From Salon • Oct. 23, 2022
The Oklahoma measure defines fertilisation as the "fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum".
From BBC • May 19, 2022
Let us take a ride, For truly, sir, thy life is incomplete ’Til viridescent ovum thou hast tried Together with a slice of glaucous meat!
From Washington Post • May 16, 2019
When a sperm and ovum combine during fertilization, the result is a single cell with a full set of genes, called the zygote.
From Slate • Sep. 18, 2018
It is no longer necessary to guess about the storage of insecticides in the eggs of birds, which obviously lend themselves to this kind of observation more readily than the mammalian ovum.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
