uterus

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

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

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

All were given with a needle passed through her mother’s abdomen and uterus, into the vein in her umbilical cord.

— New York Times, "Five Blood Transfusions, One Bone Marrow Transplant — All Before Birth," 25 May 2018
Once the blastocyst becomes implanted in a uterus, the cells that form the sphere becomes the placenta, while the cells inside the blastocyst becomes the embryo.

— laura yan, Popular Mechanics, "This Artificial Embryo Actually Started Pregnancy In Mice," 5 May 2018
This can be life-threatening for both mom and baby, since ruptures can lead to hemorrhaging, loss of the uterus, and shock.

— ashley oerman, Cosmopolitan, "How This Woman's Baby Was Born Into Her Abdominal Cavity, Then Saved By a 30-Second Surgery," 28 Dec. 2017
In January, Minerva Surgical lost a patent infringement suit against Hologic, a rival manufacturer of a radiofrequency device for treating heavy bleeding in the uterus.

— adam marcus, STAT, "Surgical device firm demands the retraction of a study paid for by its rival," 8 May 2018
Not only was the tumor removal successful, but the team was also able to spare her uterus, one ovary and most of her fallopian tubes, preventing early menopause and preserving her ability to get pregnant.

— jamie ducharme, Time, "A Connecticut Woman Had a 132-Pound Ovarian Tumor Removed," 4 May 2018
Kate Plants had an ovary and her uterus removed during two cancer surgeries.

— julie washington, cleveland.com, "West Side couple share pain of embryo loss in UH freezer failure," 14 Mar. 2018
Kylie Jenner effectively tore our attention away from her uterus for about 14 hours with the release of her 30-shade concealer collection.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "Jackie Aina Thinks Kylie Cosmetics Isn't Sending Makeup to Beauty Bloggers of Color," 2 Jan. 2018
The eggs can be thawed, fertilized in the lab and transferred to the uterus as embryos.

— rebecca albright, Scientific American, "Scientists Are Taking Extreme Steps to Help Corals Survive," 1 Jan. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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