: an unborn or unhatched vertebrate especially after attaining the basic structural plan of its kind
specifically
: a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth compare embryo sense 1a
Examples of fetus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The geneticist explained that while the fetus’s DNA appeared normal, the test was inconclusive due to extra DNA in her blood that didn’t seem to belong to either the baby or herself.
—
Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
The scans found that her uterus was empty, but a nearly full-term fetus in an amniotic sac was hiding in a small space in her abdomen, near her liver.
—Laura Ungar The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 28 Dec. 2025
Plus, a mother provides the environment within which an embryo and then fetus develops and grows.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
Rubella, also called German measles, is mild in children but devastating to fetuses, causing deafness, heart defects and intellectual disabilities when pregnant women are infected.
—Jake Scott, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fetus
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Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
The scans found that her uterus was empty, but a nearly full-term fetus in an amniotic sac was hiding in a small space in her abdomen, near her liver.
—Laura Ungar The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 28 Dec. 2025
Plus, a mother provides the environment within which an embryo and then fetus develops and grows.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
Rubella, also called German measles, is mild in children but devastating to fetuses, causing deafness, heart defects and intellectual disabilities when pregnant women are infected.
—Jake Scott, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fetus
Cite this Entry
“Fetus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fetus. Accessed 4 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fetus
noun
fe·tus
ˈfēt-əs 
plural fetuses
: a young animal while in the body of its mother or in the egg especially in the later stages of development
especially
: a developing human being in the uterus from usually two months after pregnancy occurs to birth compare embryo sense 1
Medical Definition
fetus
noun
fe·tus
variants
or chiefly British foetus
plural fetuses or chiefly British foetuses or foeti
ˈfēt-ˌī
: an unborn or unhatched vertebrate especially after attaining the basic structural plan of its kind
specifically
: a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth compare embryo
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