ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm

plural ova ˈō-və

: a female gamete : macrogamete

called also egg cell

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web One of the two missing eggs is known as the Cherub with Chariot, which depicts a chubby baby angel pulling an ovum on a carriage. —

Stu Woo And Aruna Viswanatha, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2022 The menstrual cycle is usually 28 days and is divided in half by ovulation on day 14, as the ovum is released from the ovary. —

Jason Karp, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2014 Afterward, odds are fair that an ovum of the bottom lizard will set out on its parthenogenic way. —

Rebecca Coffey, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021 The right chemical stimulus can cause a mammalian ovum in a lab, even a human one, to start dividing and producing an embryo without sperm. —

Quanta Magazine, 18 June 2020 Each ovum has its own characteristics and personality, but the woman is young, not necessarily in a forever-relationship and just not ready for a baby of her own. —

Christine Dolen, sun-sentinel.com, 15 July 2019 Pregnancy occurs when a sperm cell fertilizes an ovum that has been released into the Fallopian tubes after ovulation. —

Shan Boodram, Teen Vogue, 19 July 2018 This is the part of the sperm that produces an enzyme that breaks down the outer edge of the ovum, enabling pregnancy. —

Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 16 July 2018 In more 80 percent of the 41 fertilized ovums tested, the growing and dividing cells failed to form a hollow sphere of about 200 cells, called a blastocyst. —

Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian, 21 Sep. 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ovum.' 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

New Latin, from Latin, egg — more at egg entry 1

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ovum was in 1672

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ovum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ovum. Accessed 4 Jun. 2023.

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Kids Definition

ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm

plural ova -və

: egg entry 2 sense 1c

Medical Definition

ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm

plural ova -və

: a female gamete : macrogamete

especially : a mature egg that has undergone reduction, is ready for fertilization, and takes the form of a relatively large inactive gamete providing a comparatively great amount of reserve material and contributing most of the cytoplasm of the zygote