: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken
also: its contents used as food
b
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
Noun
The egg will hatch about 10 days after it is laid.
the smell of rotten eggs
I bought a carton of eggs.
a batter made from flour and egg
The egg is fertilized by the sperm. Verb (1)
though exhausted, I was egged on by spectators to finish the marathon
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Using a fork, gently beat eggs, mixing in flour with each stroke.—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 June 2024 Female cicadas make long slits in twigs, laying 20 eggs in each slit, up to 600 eggs in total.—Taylor Glascock Julie Bosman, New York Times, 2 June 2024
Verb
This was particularly useful for catching and magnifying some of the interplay between band members, most of which took place between Mayer and fan-favorite keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, two guys who like to egg each other on with some mugging when their parts align.—Chris Willman, Variety, 17 May 2024 The caller reported that their vehicle and their neighbor’s vehicle were egged the previous night.—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 14 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for egg
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'egg.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English egge, from Old Norse egg; akin to Old English ǣg egg, Latin ovum, Greek ōion
Verb (1)
Middle English, from Old Norse eggja; akin to Old English ecg edge — more at edge
: a hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by domestic poultry
also: its contents used as food
b
: a reproductive body produced by an animal and consisting of an ovum with its food-containing and protecting envelopes and being capable of development into a new individual
c
: a germ cell produced by a female
called alsoovum
2
: something shaped like an egg
darning egg
Etymology
Verb
Old Norse eggja "to incite"
Noun
Middle English egge "egg," from early Norse egg (same meaning)
: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)
2
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
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