egg

¹

[ eg ]

noun

1. the roundish reproductive body produced by the female of certain animals, as birds and most reptiles, consisting of an ovum and its envelope of albumen, jelly, membranes, egg case, or shell, according to species.
2. such a body produced by a domestic bird, especially the hen.
3. the contents of an egg or eggs: fried eggs.

   raw egg;

   fried eggs.

4. anything resembling a hen's egg.
5. Also called egg cell. the female gamete; ovum.
6. Informal. person:

   He's a good egg.

7. Slang. an aerial bomb.

verb (used with object)

1. to prepare (food) by dipping in beaten egg.

egg

²

[ eg ]

verb (used with object)

1. to incite or urge; encourage (usually followed by on ).

egg

¹

/ ɛɡ /

verb

1. trusually foll byon to urge or incite, esp to daring or foolish acts

egg

²

/ ɛɡ /

noun

1. the oval or round reproductive body laid by the females of birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and some other animals, consisting of a developing embryo, its food store, and sometimes jelly or albumen, all surrounded by an outer shell or membrane
2. Also calledegg cell any female gamete; ovum
3. the egg of the domestic hen used as food
4. something resembling an egg, esp in shape or in being in an early stage of development
5. bad egg old-fashioned.
   1. a bad person
   2. an exclamation of dismay
6. good egg old-fashioned.
   1. a good person
   2. an exclamation of delight
7. lay an egg slang.
   1. to make a joke or give a performance, etc, that fails completely
   2. (of a joke, performance, etc) to fail completely; flop
8. put all one's eggs in one basket or have all one's eggs in one basket
   to stake everything on a single venture
9. teach one's grandmother to suck eggs
   to presume to teach someone something that he knows already
10. with egg on one's face informal.
    made to look ridiculous

verb

1. to dip (food) in beaten egg before cooking
2. informal.
   to throw eggs at

egg

/ ĕg /

1. The larger, usually nonmotile female reproductive cell of most organisms that reproduce sexually. Eggs are haploid (they have half the number of chromosomes as the other cells in the organism's body). During fertilization, the nucleus of an egg cell fuses with the nucleus of a sperm cell (the male reproductive cell) to form a new diploid organism. In animals, eggs are spherical, covered by a membrane, and usually produced by the ovaries. In some simple aquatic animals, eggs are fertilized and develop outside the body. In some terrestrial animals, such as insects, reptiles and birds, eggs are fertilized inside the body but are incubated outside the body, protected by durable, waterproof membranes (shells) until the young hatch. In mammals, eggs produced in the ovaries are fertilized inside the body and (except in the cases of monotremes) develop in the reproductive tract until birth. The human female fetus possesses all of the eggs that she will ever have; every month after the onset of puberty, one of these eggs matures and is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube, where it is either fertilized or discarded during menstruation. In many plants (such as the bryophytes, ferns, and gymnosperms) eggs are produced by flasked-shaped structures known as archegonia. In gymnosperms and angiosperms, eggs are enclosed within ovules. In angiosperms, the ovules are enclosed within ovaries.
2. See also oogenesis
3. In many animals, a structure consisting of this reproductive cell together with nutrients and often a protective covering. The embryo develops within this structure if the reproductive cell is fertilized. The egg is often laid outside the body, but the female of ovoviviparous species may keep it inside the body until after hatching.

egg

1. A female gamete .

Pronunciation Note

Egg, like beg, leg, and other words where “short e” precedes a “hard g” sound, is pronounced with the vowel [e] of bet and let, except in parts of New England and the South Midland and southern U.S., where these words are frequently said with [-eyg], to rhyme with vague and plague, especially in the speech of the less educated. This raising of [e] to a higher vowel [ey], articulated with the upper surface of the tongue closer to the palate, also occurs before [zh], as in measure, pleasure, and treasure.

Other Words From

• eggless adjective
• eggy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of egg¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English eg(ge), from Old Norse egg; replacing Middle English ey, aig, Old English ǣg, German Ei; akin to Latin ōvum, Greek ōión “egg”

Origin of egg²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English eggen, from Old Norse eggja “to incite, urge on,” derivative of egg edge

Word History and Origins

Origin of egg¹

Old English eggian, from Old Norse eggja to urge; related to Old English ecg edge , Middle Low German eggen to harrow

Origin of egg²

C14: from Old Norse egg; related to Old English ǣg, Old High German ei

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. egg on one's face, Informal. humiliation or embarrassment resulting from having said or done something foolish or unwise:

   They were afraid to back the losing candidate and wind up with egg on their faces.

2. lay an egg, Informal. to fail wretchedly, especially to be unsuccessful in front of an audience:

   He laid an egg as the romantic hero.

3. put all one's eggs in one basket, to venture all of something that one possesses in a single enterprise.
4. walk on eggs, to walk or act very cautiously.

More idioms and phrases containing egg

• bad egg
• good egg
• goose egg
• kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
• lay an egg
• put all one's eggs in one basket
• walk on eggs

Example Sentences

We are very used to the idea that germline cells in an animal body are set aside for their special reproductive roles very shortly after an egg is fertilized and starts to develop into an embryo.

From Science Daily

Arriving for a party rally in Rhyl, Denbighshire, a pro-hunting supporter cracked an egg on Prescott's head.

From BBC

When a protester on the campaign trail threw an egg at him ahead of the 2001 general election, Mr. Prescott turned and punched him.

From New York Times

He also famously punched a man who threw an egg at him while on the general election campaign trail in Rhyl, North Wales in 2001.

From BBC

He hit the headlines during the 2001 general election after he was filmed throwing a punch at a member of the public who had thrown an egg at him during a protest in Rhyl, Flintshire.

From BBC