as in elliptical
having the shape of an egg
the Oval Office in the White House
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oval
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
The main use case for an oval Dutch oven is for large cuts of meat like a rack of lamb.
—Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 Sep. 2025
Wcco Staff, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Slow cookers are bulky, unattractive in their signature oval way and require a lot of thinking ahead to use.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for oval
Adjective
Hanging below the vast cosmic heart is a knot of dust and gas known informally as the Fishhead Nebula, thanks to its vaguely oval outline and a dark dust filament that gives it the appearance of an aquatic creature.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
The main use case for an oval Dutch oven is for large cuts of meat like a rack of lamb.
—Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
In the filing, Boche describes the holding facility as having two dozen desks arranged in an oval, each with a phone.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Slow cookers are bulky, unattractive in their signature oval way and require a lot of thinking ahead to use.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for oval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oval
Adjective
-
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun while positioned farther from Earth during its slightly elliptical orbit.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Told in an elliptical style that requires the viewer to fill in some gaps, the narrative begins in Montreal, where 50-something Mihail (theatre actor and director Galin Stoev) works as a curator for a wealthy Canadian art dealer (Christophe Bégin).—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In the restaurant on the top floor, Gray Kunz’s Café Gray Deluxe, the lamb tagine is so tender there’s no guilt for skipping a chance to have dim sum and Hong Kong’s signature egg tarts.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
-
She and Arthur's four other children were conceived using an anonymous egg donor and a gestational surrogate.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This resonance dramatically stretches the planet’s orbit, turning it into a long, narrow ellipse.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The double-ellipse frame now reveals the full architecture of the caliber DR002SR, while the watch preserves the classical proportions and architecture of the original.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The phone's exterior frame includes a loop for a lanyard, as well as physical keys to activate push-to-talk and emergency outreach shortcuts.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Rather than hanging from a traditional metal loop soldered to the outside, the ribbon feeds directly into an internal cavity hidden between the medal's two halves.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Insights from a trophoblast spheroid model.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Then, these pre-differentiated cells were assembled into spherical clusters known as spheroids, a formation that scientists have found aids tissue repair and regeneration.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Five of them will be white balls numbered 1 to 69.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
22 Feb. 2026
-
In a first-half highlight, Phoebe Dummer stole the ball at mid-poll and outraced two defenders to score for a 4-1 lead with 27 seconds left.—
Glae Thien,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The video of the incident went viral online, popping up across different platforms and drawing varying reactions from different political spheres, garnering praise and criticism alike.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Because the sky looks like a gigantic sphere surrounding us, astronomers use angles to measure apparent size.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The presence of anorthosite on the moon suggested that the entire orb was once a magma ocean, or completely molten.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The orb-weaving spider gets the gold.—
Sheryl DeVore,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oval. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
