uterus

play

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

Baby B kicked incessantly, rolled and curled himself into tight balls, pressed his feet into my ribcage and planked across the arc of my uterus.

— tanika davis, baltimoresun.com, "Navigating the deep end of tricky twin milestones," 24 Aug. 2017
Very heavy bleeding could be a sign of a growth in your uterus—and can even eventually lead to anemia.

— frances cannon, Teen Vogue, "What You Should Do During Your Period to Make It More Bearable," 21 Aug. 2017
Placental mammals all develop inside a uterus, drawing blood from their mothers.

— author: carl zimmer, Alaska Dispatch News, "When dinosaurs ruled the Earth, mammals took to the skies," 9 Aug. 2017
But Catholic hospitals refuse to remove a healthy and harmless uterus from anyone, whether the person identifies as cisgender or transgender.

— ryan t. anderson, National Review, "The Continuing Threat to Religious Liberty," 3 Aug. 2017
For instance, period cramps happen because of mini uterus contractions that also cause blood vessels to constrict around the abdomen.

— dr. manny alvarez, Fox News, "5 ways to relieve period cramps naturally," 10 July 2017
She was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome, a condition that caused her to have external female anatomy and, internally, undescended testes instead of a uterus.

— diane stopyra, Marie Claire, "Dear Parents-to-Be: Stop Celebrating Your Baby's Gender," 5 July 2017
The placenta grows in the uterus during pregnancy and provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.

— mike stobbe, The Seattle Times, "Oregon infant’s illness prompts warning about placenta pills," 30 June 2017
The placenta grows in the uterus during pregnancy and provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.

— Washington Post, "Oregon infant’s illness prompts warning about placenta pills," 29 June 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

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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

play

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

play

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