ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm 

plural ova ˈō-və 

: a female gamete : macrogamete

called also egg cell

Examples of ovum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The exterior membrane of a dunnart ovum, which is about 0.2 millimetres in diameter, turns out to be very difficult to penetrate, Ord explained. —D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

The ovum carrying the new genetic material is allowed to develop into an embryo and then transferred into the womb of a surrogate, which ultimately gives birth to an exact duplicate of the animal from which the donor cell was taken. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Apr. 2025

Kate Mara Before welcoming her daughter in 2019, Fantastic Four and House of Cards actress Kate Mara experienced a miscarriage known as a blighted ovum. —Mia Taylor, Parents, 16 Oct. 2024

If a sperm cell carrying an X chromosome fertilizes the ovum, the fetus will be genetically female. —Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 19 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin, egg — more at egg entry 1

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm 

plural ova -və 

: egg entry 2 sense 1c

Medical Definition

ovum

noun

ˈō-vəm 

plural ova -və 

: a female gamete : macrogamete

especially : a mature egg that has undergone reduction, is ready for fertilization, and takes the form of a relatively large inactive gamete providing a comparatively great amount of reserve material and contributing most of the cytoplasm of the zygote