uterus
Americannoun
noun
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Nontechnical name: womb. anatomy a hollow muscular organ lying within the pelvic cavity of female mammals. It houses the developing fetus and by contractions aids in its expulsion at parturition
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the corresponding organ in other animals
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The hollow, muscular organ of female mammals in which the embryo develops. In most mammals the uterus is divided into two saclike parts, whereas in primates it is a single structure. It lies between the bladder and rectum and is attached to the vagina and the fallopian tubes. During the menstrual cycle (estrus), the lining of the uterus (endometrium) undergoes changes that permit the implantation of a fertilized egg.
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Also called womb
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See more at menstrual cycle
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of uterus
1605–15; < Latin: the womb, matrix; akin to Greek hystéra womb, Sanskrit udara belly
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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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A tube containing the IUD is then passed through the tiny cervical opening into the uterus, a process that is excruciating for many patients.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists explains that there are three main ways to treat a miscarriage, with a goal of removing any tissue left from the pregnancy in the uterus.
From Salon ● May 26, 2026
Those with a uterus should use both estrogen and progestogen, to prevent uterine cancer.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
An in-person doctor’s visit is the only reliable way to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy—a life-threatening condition in which an embryo implants outside the uterus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
If Mrs. Someone-or-other was having premature contractions, she needed a bath in ginger to increase the supply of oxygen to the uterus.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Her fourth pregnancy saw her carry two babies, one in each of the uteri, a condition known as dicavitary pregnancy.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 23, 2023
And the odds of becoming pregnant in both uteri - a dicavitary pregnancy - were even slimmer, at "one in a million", according to the UAB.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2023
A painting of pink, green and yellow uteri strung on a clothesline hangs on a pale-yellow wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2022
Her tonic promised to cure everything from menstrual cramps to infertility to prolapsus uteri.
From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2014
Of the remaining females from Harding County, three collected on May 29 had enlarged uteri, whereas two collected in late June evidenced no gross reproductive activity.
From Mammals of Northwestern South Dakota by Andersen, Kenneth W.
She claimed to have a rare condition of having two uteruses and provided a fake NHS-branded letter apparently confirming the miscarriage, the court heard.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025
ProPublica previously reported on two such cases in which miscarrying women in Texas died of sepsis after doctors delayed evacuating their uteruses.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
These were implanted in the uteruses of normal cows in Brazil, and one transgenic calf was born.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
The book contains striking color illustrations of fetuses and uteruses at all stages of development and pregnancy — the consequences of what Granville called “morbid menstruation.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2022
There were found two uteruses, the posterior one being a normal organ with its adnexa; connected with this uterus was another one, anterior to it.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)
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.
