pregnancy
Americannoun
-
pregnancies
plural
noun
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the state or condition of being pregnant
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the period from conception to childbirth
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The condition of carrying developing offspring within the body.
-
The time period during which this condition exists; gestation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pregnancy
First recorded in 1520–30; pregn(ant) 1 + -ancy
Explanation
Pregnancy is the state of being pregnant, the time a woman grows a baby in her belly. For humans, pregnancy lasts about nine months, during which time the mother might want a chocolate chip and pickle sandwich. Get her one. Before a mother bear gives birth to a cub, or a mother cat has kittens, she goes through pregnancy. In humans, pregnancy is a time to prepare for a new baby while the mother-to-be does things like take special vitamins and choose a doctor or midwife to assist with the upcoming birth. Bears and cats just go for it. Pregnancy comes from the Latin praegnans, "with child" or "before birth," from prae-, "before," and gnasci, "be born."
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.
See Examples For:
She urged women who’ve dealt with issues like anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder to make preconception and pregnancy appointments with care providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
West asserts that Gilkar and Ahmed pressured her to terminate the pregnancy; Gilkar and Ahmed assert that West initially agreed that termination would be best and even made an appointment before changing her mind.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
She was starring as Juliette Barnes in “Nashville” at the time; the writers had written Pannettiere’s pregnancy into the show and, in Season 3, Juliette also began experiencing postpartum depression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
After 10 weeks of pregnancy a medical abortion can be done at a clinic or hospital, or women can have a short medical procedure, known as a surgical abortion.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Then Dad pipes up with “Have we ever told you about your mother’s weird pregnancy cravings?”
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
But this is also misleading because the study’s data covered completed pregnancies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The woman was prescribed sodium valproate in the 90s for seizures, and was taking it during two of her four pregnancies.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
For all of the vicious debates over sex ed in the ’90 and 2000s, those pushing abstinence and those promoting comprehensive health education could largely agree on one thing: We wanted teen pregnancies to decrease.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Researchers also identified links between structural changes in the brain and peripartum depression during both first and second pregnancies.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
In November I was watching over two pregnancies, one of which I worried about.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
