ovate

[ oh-veyt ]

adjective

1. egg-shaped.
2. Botany.
   1. having a shape like the longitudinal section of an egg.
   2. having such a shape with the broader end at the base, as a leaf.

ovate

/ ˈəʊveɪt /

adjective

1. shaped like an egg
2. (esp of a leaf) shaped like the longitudinal section of an egg, with the broader end at the base Compare obovate

Derived Forms

• ˈovately, adverb

Other Words From

• ovate·ly adverb
• semi·ovate adjective
• sub·ovate adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ovate¹

1750–60; < Latin ōvātus, equivalent to ōv ( um ) egg ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ovate¹

C18: from Latin ōvātus egg-shaped; see ovum

Example Sentences

The Yankton Sioux Tribe voted Friday to ban Noem from their land in southeastern South Dakota just a few days after the Sisseton-Wahpeton Ovate tribe took the same action.

From Seattle Times

Every bit of ground was drenched in sunlight and steaming in the heat, except for the living room that harbored the only wild population of Chittenango ovate amber snails in the world.

From New York Times

A Chittenango ovate amber snail inspected a new leaf placed inside its terrarium in a lab.

From New York Times

Here, in an area about the size of a living room, is the only known habitat of a small, critically endangered invertebrate with a marbled spiral shell: the Chittenango ovate amber snail.

From New York Times

At the center will be an ovate fountain whose waters wash over the inscribed names of the worshipers who were killed on June 17, 2015: the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, Cynthia Hurd, Ethel Lee Lance, Susie Jackson, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel Simmons and Myra Thompson.

From New York Times