uterus
Americannoun
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uteri,
plural
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uteruses
plural
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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uteri
plural
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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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Doctors suspected she had a potentially fatal pregnancy complication called placenta percreta, where the placenta attaches itself and grows through the uterus.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
Three doctors gathered and told the couple that the longer Waldorf’s cervix remained open and her uterus exposed to bacteria, the higher her risk of developing a life-threatening infection.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Those with a uterus should use both estrogen and progestogen, to prevent uterine cancer.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
There were two shark pups in the uterus, dead, of course.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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
In the Female c.ut, the left cornu uteri.
From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
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
These were implanted in the uteruses of normal cows in Brazil, and one transgenic calf was born.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
Indeed, it is possible that more clinicians in the future might ask those with uteruses if they want the option to remove their own IUD.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2021
In a case reported in the Journal of the Chinese Medical Association in 2015, a woman with two uteruses underwent in vitro fertilization.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2019
Both of these uteruses were distinct and almost entirely separate.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle
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.
