ovum
Cell Biology.
the female reproductive cell or gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, usually only after fertilization, into a new individual.
the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.
Architecture. an oval ornament, as in an egg-and-dart molding.
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Origin of ovum
1Words Nearby ovum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ovum in a sentence
The ovum of Amphioxus contains very little food material and its segmentation is quite uniform.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland BalfourA section of the embryo, as we may now call the ovum, is represented in Plate 5, fig.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland BalfourThe bulk of the ovum is composed of yolk spherules, imbedded in a protoplasmic matrix.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland BalfourIt contains in fact a larger bulk of active protoplasm, as compared with yolk-granules, than does the remainder of the ovum.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland BalfourThe outer of the three is composed of the largest-sized yolk-spherules which constitute the greater part of the ovum.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 | Francis Maitland Balfour
British Dictionary definitions for ovum
/ (ˈəʊvəm) /
an unfertilized female gamete; egg cell
Origin of ovum
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for ovum
[ ō′vəm ]
The mature reproductive cell of female animals, produced in the ovaries. See more at egg.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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