in vitro fertilization

noun

Definition of in vitro fertilization

: fertilization of an egg in a laboratory dish or test tube; specifically : fertilization by mixing sperm with eggs surgically removed from an ovary followed by uterine implantation of one or more of the resulting fertilized eggs —abbreviation IVF

Recent Examples of in vitro fertilization from the Web

After trying for years to get pregnant and undergoing in vitro fertilization, Teigen and husband Legend welcomed little Luna Simone into their family last year.

— evelyn wang, SELF, "Chrissy Teigen Announces She'll Try for a Second Child With Her Last Frozen Embryo," 4 Oct. 2017
In April 2016, a single male embryo from the couple was implanted in Allen's uterus at an Irvine-based in vitro fertilization center.

— susan scutti, CNN, "Surrogate mom delivers two babies, one her own," 3 Nov. 2017
Most couples use their own eggs and sperm, turning to doctors to facilitate pregnancy through techniques such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

— ariana eunjung cha, Washington Post, "Donor eggs, sperm banks and the quest for ‘good’ genes," 21 Oct. 2017
That’s what many people said before the successful birth of children whose mothers had been implanted with eggs that were fertilized outside the body using in vitro fertilization.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "In Vitro Fertilization Was Once As Controversial As Gene Editing is Today," 27 Sep. 2017
Daniel Hemel, a professor at University of Chicago, used the example of a couple who spends $20,000 out of pocket on in vitro fertilization as one plausible example.

— benjy sarlin, NBC News, "How Much Would Families Save Under the GOP Tax Bill?," 3 Nov. 2017
Parents will also be to more accurately analyze the pluses and minuses of multiple embryos and select the one that has the best combination of probabilities for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

— alex salkever, Fortune, "When Baby Genes Are for Sale, the Rich Will Pay," 23 Oct. 2017
If the concern is that embryos may be destroyed, parents with genetic diseases are already discarding many while using in vitro fertilization as a way to avoid passing on abnormal DNA.

— henry i. miller, WSJ, "Gene Editing Is Here, and Desperate Patients Want It," 12 Oct. 2017
How extreme is the Zygote Personhood position, which would arguably ban in vitro fertilization clinics and various forms of contraception?

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Let’s Talk About Roy Moore’s Extremism on Abortion," 28 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'in vitro fertilization.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of in vitro fertilization

1969

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Medical Dictionary