womb
Americannoun
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the uterus of the human female and certain higher mammals.
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the place in which anything is formed or produced.
the womb of time.
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the interior of anything.
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Obsolete. the belly.
noun
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the nontechnical name for uterus
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a hollow space enclosing something, esp when dark, warm, or sheltering
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a place where something is conceived
the Near East is the womb of western civilization
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obsolete the belly
Other Word Forms
- unwomb verb (used with object)
- wombed adjective
- womblike adjective
Etymology
Origin of womb
before 900; Middle English, Old English: belly, womb; cognate with Dutch wam, German Wamme, Gothic wamba belly; wamus
Explanation
A womb is the organ in which female mammals grow and carry a fetus before it's ready to be born. Your first home was a womb, but good luck trying to return there. Womb is a slightly more casual, everyday way to say uterus. Whichever word you use, it's the name of the organ that biologically female mammals have for growing fetuses before birth. Many animals have two wombs, but humans just have one. In Old English, womb meant "uterus," but it also meant "belly, bowels, or heart."
Vocabulary lists containing womb
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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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.
He was born in Los Angeles to a white American mother and a Japanese father, the latter effectively disowning him while he was still in the womb.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Keenan argued that workers’ compensation law, which bars employee lawsuits over work-related injuries, also prohibited the child’s claims, because a fetus in an employee’s womb was effectively an employee herself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
According to the World Health Organization, one in 10 women live with the incurable condition, which occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue normally found in the lining of the womb grows outside the uterus, most commonly in the pelvis.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
“It is the heart of the world. It is the womb of the world. It is the poem that made the world. I am the Bog, and the Bog is me.”
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
