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

But, people with the syndrome are also at high risk of developing a slew of cancerous growths—most commonly cancers of the breast, thyroid, and uterus—over their lifetime. —Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2025

This condition causes longer or heavier periods due to hormone imbalances, growths in the uterus like fibroids or polyps, or conditions like adenomyosis, where the uterine lining grows outside the uterus. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 11 June 2025

Emergency room staff observed that Thurman's hormone levels had dropped, a pregnancy was not visible in her uterus and a structure was blocking her fallopian tube -- all telltale signs of an ectopic pregnancy, when a fetus implants outside of the uterus and has no room to grow. —Arkansas Online, 5 June 2025

And things ranging from hormonal disorders to thyroid problems to endometriosis (when endometrium-like tissue grows outside of your uterus) may trigger relentless periods. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 3 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