ovum

[ oh-vuh m ]
/ ˈoʊ vəm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ovum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural o·va [oh-vuh] /ˈoʊ və/.

Cell Biology.
  1. the female reproductive cell or gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, usually only after fertilization, into a new individual.
  2. the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.
Architecture. an oval ornament, as in an egg-and-dart molding.

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Origin of ovum

1700–10; < Latin ōvum egg1; cognate with Greek ōión

Words nearby ovum

ovulation method, ovulatory, ovule, ovulocyclic, ovulum, ovum, ow, owatonna, owe, owelty, owen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to ovum

seed, egg, gamete, spore, oosphere

Example sentences from the Web for ovum

British Dictionary definitions for ovum

ovum
/ (ˈəʊvəm) /

noun plural ova (ˈəʊvə)

an unfertilized female gamete; egg cell

Word Origin for ovum

from Latin: 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

Medical definitions for ovum

ovum
[ ō′vəm ]

n. pl. o•va (ō′və)

The female reproductive cell or gamete; egg.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for ovum

ovum
[ ō′vəm ]

Plural ova

The mature reproductive cell of female animals, produced in the ovaries. See more at egg.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.