umbilical cord

noun

1. Anatomy. a cord or funicle connecting the embryo or fetus with the placenta of the mother and transporting nourishment from the mother and wastes from the fetus.
2. any electrical, fuel, or other cable or connection for servicing, operating, or testing equipment, as in a rocket or missile, that is disconnected from the equipment at completion.
3. Aerospace Slang. a strong lifeline by which an astronaut on a spacewalk is connected to the vehicle and supplied with air, a communication system, etc.

umbilical cord

noun

1. the long flexible tubelike structure connecting a fetus with the placenta: it provides a means of metabolic interchange with the mother
2. any flexible cord, tube, or cable used to transfer information, power, oxygen, etc, as between an astronaut walking in space and his spacecraft or a deep-sea diver and his craft

umbilical cord

/ ŭm-bĭl′ĭ-kəl /

1. The flexible cord that attaches an embryo or fetus to the placenta. The umbilical cord contains blood vessels that supply nutrients and oxygen to the fetus and remove its wastes, including carbon dioxide.

umbilical cord

1. A ropelike structure that connects a developing embryo or fetus to the placenta . The umbilical cord contains the blood vessels that supply the embryo or fetus with nutrients and remove waste products. Connected to the abdomen of the embryo or fetus, the umbilical cord is cut at birth, leaving a small depression — the navel, or “belly button.”

Notes

The detaching of the umbilical cord provides a figure of speech for new independence: “He finally cut the umbilical cord and moved out of his parents' home.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of umbilical cord¹

1745–55; 1965–70 umbilical cord fordef 2

Example Sentences

After the delivery, the doctors discovered that Leighton had suffered from two knots in her umbilical cord.

From Popular-Science

All are currently insufficient, according to Bukowski, who says there is not even enough research to even conclude how frequently any umbilical cord accidents—let alone the more controversial ones—contribute to stillbirth.

From Popular-Science

Collins maintains that enough research exists, in both humans and other mammals, to support routine screening for umbilical cord abnormalities.

From Popular-Science

The condition can result when the umbilical cord is wrapped around a baby’s neck or when a mother’s uterus ruptures.

From ProPublica

At just over 33 weeks into the pregnancy, the smaller fetus’s umbilical cord wasn’t functioning normally, which started to impact the baby’s growth.

From Washington Post

They hold signs depicting a fetus with a hanging umbilical cord.

From The Daily Beast

She tried, says Schreiber, “to cut the umbilical cord to her parents mainly by way of entrance into high culture.”

From The Daily Beast

Since I was an aspiring actor from the severing of my umbilical cord, his thoughts were particularly interesting to me.

From The Daily Beast

The length of the umbilical cord is from eighteen to twenty-four inches, its diameter about half an inch.

From Project Gutenberg

A careful examination should also be made round the neck, to see if the umbilical cord is around it.

From Project Gutenberg

The umbilical cord, as Marx said, which connects the individual consciousness with the collective consciousness is cut.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been thought that the blood of the mother passes into the body of the fœtus, by means of the placenta and umbilical cord.

From Project Gutenberg

Only through her blood can the mother influence the child, since the Umbilical Cord contains no nerves.

From Project Gutenberg