Illustration of egg
- 1 shell
- 2 outer shell membrane
- 3 inner shell membrane
- 4 air space
- 5 chalaza
- 6 albumen or white layers
- 7 yolk layers
- 8 blastodisc
- 9 vitelline membrane
often attributive
1
a
: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken
also
: its contents used as food
b
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
c
: ovum
2
: something resembling an egg
eggless
adjective
Synonyms
Examples of egg in a Sentence
Noun
The egg will hatch about 10 days after it is laid.
the smell of rotten eggs
I bought a carton of eggs.
a batter made from flour and egg
The egg is fertilized by the sperm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
Which was your favorite callback, Easter egg, or familiar face?
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Taylor Swift is dropping more Easter eggs about her upcoming album!
—Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The chocolate flavor contains just egg whites, coconut, cocoa, and monk fruit.
—Alexandra Paetow Ms Rdn, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
The commission also examined the current bans on egg donation and surrogacy in Germany, saying on Monday that egg donation should be legalized and regulated by law.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
This one has an egg stirred in (think egg-drop meets minestrone meets avgolemono).
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Stop Sales crashed down on rice and peas, curry chicken, brown stew chicken and raw eggs, all at least 13 degrees too warm after being in the walk-in cooler overnight.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
The eggs will hatch after six to 10 weeks and the cicada nymphs will burrow themselves into the ground, attaching to the tree's roots.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
After two armed men dressed in black enter, Gardner eggs them on despite their hesitancy to engage with her.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
But Russia will still egg the axis on, encouraging its anti-American designs and working to make its attacks more effective.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024
While crossing, the singer’s travel companion waited across the street, egging her on.
—Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
The five bad-mouthed birds seemed to be egging each other on, prompting staffers to separate them and send each one to a different area of the zoo.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024
When juvenile pranksters were caught egging homes in Florida last week, the local sheriff's office used an old-fashioned solution as a punishment.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 16 Jan. 2024
After losing in a ping pong match, the 43-year-old Average Expectations author believes his ex is egging him on by congratulating the winner of the game right in front of him.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023
Licht — with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav clearly egging him on — cut hundreds of positions, scuttled a nascent streaming service called CNN+ and made questionable programming moves such as placing the provocative Don Lemon on the network’s early-morning program.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 24 Aug. 2023
Noun
Cut holes from the biscuits and fill with bacon, cheese, and eggs.
—Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
Which was your favorite callback, Easter egg, or familiar face?
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Taylor Swift is dropping more Easter eggs about her upcoming album!
—Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The chocolate flavor contains just egg whites, coconut, cocoa, and monk fruit.
—Alexandra Paetow Ms Rdn, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
The commission also examined the current bans on egg donation and surrogacy in Germany, saying on Monday that egg donation should be legalized and regulated by law.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
This one has an egg stirred in (think egg-drop meets minestrone meets avgolemono).
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Stop Sales crashed down on rice and peas, curry chicken, brown stew chicken and raw eggs, all at least 13 degrees too warm after being in the walk-in cooler overnight.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
The eggs will hatch after six to 10 weeks and the cicada nymphs will burrow themselves into the ground, attaching to the tree's roots.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Verb
That was certainly true on Tuesday, with Watts the boisterous cheerleader egging people on with arms, eyebrows and expressions.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
After two armed men dressed in black enter, Gardner eggs them on despite their hesitancy to engage with her.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
But Russia will still egg the axis on, encouraging its anti-American designs and working to make its attacks more effective.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024
While crossing, the singer’s travel companion waited across the street, egging her on.
—Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
The five bad-mouthed birds seemed to be egging each other on, prompting staffers to separate them and send each one to a different area of the zoo.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024
When juvenile pranksters were caught egging homes in Florida last week, the local sheriff's office used an old-fashioned solution as a punishment.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 16 Jan. 2024
After losing in a ping pong match, the 43-year-old Average Expectations author believes his ex is egging him on by congratulating the winner of the game right in front of him.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023
Licht — with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav clearly egging him on — cut hundreds of positions, scuttled a nascent streaming service called CNN+ and made questionable programming moves such as placing the provocative Don Lemon on the network’s early-morning program.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 24 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'egg.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near egg
Cite this Entry
“Egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egg. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
egg
2 of 2 noun1
a
: a hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by domestic poultry
also
: its contents used as food
b
: a reproductive body produced by an animal and consisting of an ovum with its food-containing and protecting envelopes and being capable of development into a new individual
c
: a germ cell produced by a female
called also ovum
2
: something shaped like an egg
darning egg
Etymology
Verb
Old Norse eggja "to incite"
Noun
Middle English egge "egg," from early Norse egg (same meaning)
Medical Definition
egg
noun1
: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)
2
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
3
: ovum
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share