uterus

noun

uter·​us ˈyü-tə-rəs 

ˈyü-trəs

plural uteri ˈyü-tə-ˌrī  or uteruses

1

: a muscular organ of the female mammal for containing and usually for nourishing the young during development prior to birth

called also womb

2

: a structure in some other animals (such as salamanders and nematodes) analogous to the mammalian uterus in which eggs or young develop

Examples of uterus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Or, like Wendy, the process failed after an embryo was transferred into the uterus. — Megan Molteni, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026

Every month the uterus sheds and regenerates its lining in what is a remarkable demonstration of scarless healing. — Fiorella Valdesolo, Allure, 30 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, conditions such as endometriosis (when endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus) and adenomyosis (when endometrial tissue grows into the wall of the uterus) may worsen during perimenopause, Huddleston said. — Cheyenne Buckingham, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2026

Ever since November, when the doctor used it to describe the functions of the human uterus. — Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, belly, womb; probably akin to Greek hoderos belly, Sanskrit udara

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

uterus

noun

uter·​us ˈyüt-ə-rəs 

plural uteruses or uteri -ˌrī 

: the muscular organ of a female mammal in which the young develop before birth

called also womb

Medical Definition

uterus

noun

uter·​us ˈyüt-ə-rəs 

plural uteri -ˌrī  also uteruses

: an organ in female mammals for containing and usually for nourishing the young during development prior to birth that consists of a greatly modified and enlarged section of an oviduct (as in rodents and marsupials) or of the two oviducts united (as in the higher primates including humans), that has thick walls consisting of an outer serous layer, a very thick middle layer of smooth muscle, and an inner mucous layer containing numerous glands, and that during pregnancy undergoes great increase in size and change in the condition of its walls

called also womb

see cervix sense 2a, corpus uteri, endometrium, fundus sense c, myometrium, perimetrium