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 lower animals analogous to the uterus in which eggs or young develop

Examples of uterus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The law did not ban treatment of ectopic pregnancies, which occur when a fetus implants outside of the uterus and has no room to grow. —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

Neither method terminates a pregnancy, which by definition begins when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. —Carol S. Weisman, The Conversation, 23 June 2025

Your uterus contracts to shed the lining, causing cramps, menstrual bleeding, and, to put it in scientific terms, the blahs. —Julia Ries, SELF, 23 June 2025

Staff could not locate a pregnancy in her uterus, but sent her home without giving her medication to end the pregnancy. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 19 June 2025

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