uterus

noun uter·us \ ˈyü-tə-rəs , ˈyü-trəs \

Definition of uterus

plural uteri play \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 lower animals analogous to the uterus in which eggs or young develop

See uterus defined for English-language learners

See uterus defined for kids

Recent Examples of uterus from the Web

My doctor had to stick his entire arm in me and detach the placenta with his hand, scraping it away from my uterus with his fingernails.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "Kim and Kanye’s Surrogate Is Reportedly Expecting a Baby Girl," 7 Sep. 2017
The goal of this mock trial is to see if the uterus responds appropriately and to make sure the surrogate doesn’t have any problems.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "5 Surprising Facts About Surrogacy," 6 Sep. 2017
This helps the dilation of the uterus at the time of delivery and reduces bleeding.

— madeeha ahmed, Smithsonian, "Why the Scrumptious Date Is So Important to the Muslim World," 6 Feb. 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
Her postpartum bleeding was the result of a rare and aggressive malignancy that grows in the uterus and is sometimes called placenta cancer.

— sandra g. boodman, Washington Post, "Born in a parking lot, the baby was fine. But something was terribly wrong with the mother.," 30 Oct. 2017
Sometime around this gestational age, the cervix—the opening to the uterus—needs to be dilated more than can safely be accomplished in the operating room on the day of procedure.

— chavi eve karkowsky, Slate Magazine, "Yes, Jane Doe got her abortion. But the wait put her at greater risk.," 30 Oct. 2017
Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus.

— sumathi reddy, WSJ, "New Treatment for Fibroids Without Surgery," 23 Oct. 2017
During the standard prenatal surgery for spina bifida, surgeons cut open the woman’s abdomen and uterus to reach the fetus.

— denise grady, New York Times, "To Mend a Birth Defect, Surgeons Operate on the Patient Within the Patient," 23 Oct. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of uterus

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

UTERUS Defined for English Language Learners

uterus

noun

Definition of uterus for English Language Learners

medical : the organ in women and some female animals in which babies develop before birth

UTERUS Defined for Kids

uterus

noun uter·us \ ˈyü-tə-rəs \

Definition of uterus for Students

plural uteruses or uteri \ˈyü-tə-ˌrī\

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

Medical Dictionary

uterus

noun uter·us \ ˈyüt-ə-rəs \

medical Definition of uterus

plural uteri play \-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 2a, corpus uteri, endometrium, fundus c, myometrium, perimetrium