ovum
Americannoun
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ova
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
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The second was what's called a "blighted ovum" where a gestational sac was found, but no embryo was developing.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2021
The meds listed in the law prevent pregnancy in the first place, blocking the sperm from entering the ovum.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2019
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
Lanning considered, “If you had all your equipment—the brain, the skeleton, the ovum, the proper hormones and radiations—say, two months.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
A female has a system “developed to produce ova” while a male has a system “developed to fertilize” that ova.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
The bill defines female as having XX chromosomes, and a reproductive and endocrine system that produces or would produce ova, or eggs.
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023
For example, in many mammal species, ova producers do most of the infant care.
From Scientific American ● May 1, 2023
But the fact that the woman produced ova did not necessarily mean she was a source of life.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2022
They are extremely interesting to watch, though, if they are accidentally introduced into a hatching trough containing trout ova, they will destroy the eggs.
From Old Flies in New Dresses How to Dress Dry Flies with the Wings in the Natural Position and Some New Wet Flies by Charles Edward Walker
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.
