oviposit

[ oh-vuh-poz-it, oh-vuh-poz- ]

verb (used without object)

1. to deposit or lay eggs, especially by means of an ovipositor.

Other Words From

• o·vi·po·si·tion [oh-v, uh, -p, uh, -, zish, -, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of oviposit¹

First recorded in 1810–20; ovi- + -posit, from Latin positus ( posit )

Example Sentences

Adults live for only a few hours, during which they mate and oviposit.

From Nature

The species which oviposit on larger plants or trees are inclosed in a gauze bag tied over the branch.

From Project Gutenberg

They may frequently be taken about tree trunks, or burrowing with their long gimlet-like ovipositors into the trunks of trees to oviposit.

From Project Gutenberg

Sedges do at times descend to oviposit and so do certain spinners, but the appearance under this condition, with an air bubble between their wings, resembles nothing so much as a globe of mercury—an appearance which bears no resemblance to the ordinary sunk fly patterns.'

From Project Gutenberg

From his long experience in rearing the eggs of these insects he concluded that the egg-laying females know in a most remarkable way the precise kinds of leaves upon which to oviposit.

From Project Gutenberg