womb

[woom]

noun

1. the uterus of the human female and certain higher mammals.

2. the place in which anything is formed or produced.

   the womb of time.

3. the interior of anything.

4. Obsolete.,  the belly.

womb

/ wuːm /

noun

1. the nontechnical name for uterus

2. a hollow space enclosing something, esp when dark, warm, or sheltering

3. a place where something is conceived

   the Near East is the womb of western civilization

4. obsolete,  the belly

womb

1. See uterus

Other Word Forms

• womblike adjective
• wombed adjective
• unwomb verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of womb¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English: belly, womb; cognate with Dutch wam, German Wamme, Gothic wamba belly; wamus

Word History and Origins

Origin of womb¹

Old English wamb; related to Old Norse vomb, Gothic wamba, Middle Low German wamme, Swedish våmm

Example Sentences

Now a group of Italian researchers have shown that the biological changes induced by a ketogenic diet may help them to escape from the long-lasting effects of stress experienced in the womb.

Read more on Science Daily

Actress Alex Kingston has revealed she was diagnosed with womb cancer last year.

Read more on BBC

Wade, he suggested, may channel its efforts toward querying the morality and legality of editing human genes in the womb.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

According to the NHS, one in 90 pregnancies in the UK are ectopic, and occur when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb.

Read more on BBC

She said she was told the bleeding was caused by "blunt trauma" as the bladder was pushed from the womb.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• belly 
• entrails 
• innards