ovum
noun
\ ˈō-vəm
\
\
plural ova\ ˈō-və
\
\
Definition of ovum
: a female gamete : macrogamete
— called also egg cell
Examples of ovum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Each ovum has its own characteristics and personality, but the woman is young, not necessarily in a forever-relationship and just not ready for a baby of her own. — Christine Dolen, sun-sentinel.com, "Review: ‘She Shorts’ puts women in the spotlight," 15 July 2019 Pregnancy occurs when a sperm cell fertilizes an ovum that has been released into the Fallopian tubes after ovulation. — Shan Boodram, Teen Vogue, "Period Sex 101: Everything You Need to Know," 19 July 2018 This is the part of the sperm that produces an enzyme that breaks down the outer edge of the ovum, enabling pregnancy. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Why There Are Sperm Swimming Around at the Space Station," 16 July 2018 In more 80 percent of the 41 fertilized ovums tested, the growing and dividing cells failed to form a hollow sphere of about 200 cells, called a blastocyst. — Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian, "Gene Editing of Embryos Gives Insight Into Basic Human Biology," 21 Sep. 2017 If there exists a Platonic ideal of a bird egg, an ovum shaped most like all the others, it is not laid by a chicken but by a small warbler called the graceful prinia. — Ben Guarino, sacbee.com, "Why are eggs shaped like, well, eggs? Scientists say they’ve figured it out," 22 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ovum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for ovum
ovum
noun
\ ˈō-vəm
\
\
plural ova\ ˈō-və \
Kids Definition of ovum
: egg cell
ovum
noun
\ ˈō-vəm
\
\
plural ova\ -və
\
\
Medical Definition of ovum
: 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
Keep scrolling for more