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. See uterus
   the nontechnical name for uterus uterine
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

/ wo̅o̅m /

1. See uterus

Derived Forms

• ˈwomblike, adjective
• wombed, adjective

Other Words From

• wombed adjective
• un·womb 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

For example, as a baby is developing hands in the womb, those hands start out with webbing between the fingers.

From Science News For Students

Most of these genes instruct how our brain circuitry is laid down in the womb, and how it functions.

From Singularity Hub 

A group of scientists now suspects part of the reason may be that megalodon ate its siblings while still in its mother’s womb.

From Science News For Students

So, in the new study, the team suggests that a behavior unique to this order may also play a role — a kind of cannibalism that occurs in the womb.

From Science News

To the left is what is ostensibly a dining room, where everything is hot pink and it feels like the world’s most chaotic bubble bath, or maybe a very fun womb.

From Vox

Complete male reproductive independence would also hinge on artificial womb technology, which also made headlines in 2014.

From The Daily Beast

At present, not every woman is young enough, fertile enough, or healthy enough to have a baby using her own eggs or her own womb.

From The Daily Beast

The womb may become artificial by the end of the century but it will still be the battleground for feminist politics.

From The Daily Beast

But when the womb—the most politicized body part in history—is separated from the woman, what will it mean for feminism?

From The Daily Beast

A report says a man-made womb could be reality within 30 years.

From The Daily Beast

Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel who are carried by my bowels, are borne up by my womb.

From Project Gutenberg

For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb.

From Project Gutenberg

Why came I out of the womb, to see labour and sorrow, and that my days should be spent in confusion?

From Project Gutenberg

As for Ephraim, their glory hath flown away like bird from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

From Project Gutenberg

Nor is the heat the cause of the black complexion, particularly of children in the womb, who are out of the reach of the sun.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• belly
• entrails
• innards