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egg
1[eg]
noun
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.
such a body produced by a domestic bird, especially the hen.
the contents of an egg or eggs: fried eggs.
raw egg;
fried eggs.
anything resembling a hen's egg.
Also called egg cell.the female gamete; ovum.
Informal.person.
He's a good egg.
Slang.an aerial bomb.
verb (used with object)
to prepare (food) by dipping in beaten egg.
egg
2[eg]
verb (used with object)
to incite or urge; encourage (usually followed byon ).
egg
1/ ɛɡ /
noun
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
Also called: egg cell.any female gamete; ovum
the egg of the domestic hen used as food
something resembling an egg, esp in shape or in being in an early stage of development
old-fashioned
a bad person
an exclamation of dismay
old-fashioned
a good person
an exclamation of delight
slang
to make a joke or give a performance, etc, that fails completely
(of a joke, performance, etc) to fail completely; flop
to stake everything on a single venture
to presume to teach someone something that he knows already
informalmade to look ridiculous
verb
to dip (food) in beaten egg before cooking
informalto throw eggs at
egg
2/ ɛɡ /
verb
to urge or incite, esp to daring or foolish acts
egg
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.
See also oogenesis
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
A female gamete.
Pronunciation Note
Other 51Թ Forms
- eggless adjective
- eggy adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of egg1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of egg1
Origin of egg2
Idioms and Phrases
put all one's eggs in one basket, to venture all of something that one possesses in a single enterprise.
lay an egg, to fail wretchedly, especially to be unsuccessful in front of an audience.
He laid an egg as the romantic hero.
egg on one's face, 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.
walk on eggs, to walk or act very cautiously.
Example Sentences
Tomato and egg is a culinary truth, one of those elemental pairings that shows up across cultures not because anyone decided it should, but because it just makes sense.
Since 1959, they’ve come for Chinese American classics such as sweet and sour chicken, barbecued pork chow mein, egg rolls, chop suey and shrimp fried rice.
“I had all my eggs in one basket and didn’t even know it,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Female tennis players who wish to freeze eggs or embryos, so they can start a family at a later date, will have their ranking protected by the WTA Tour.
In the 20 months since the war in Gaza began, Amit Halevy has been spat at, screamed at, and pelted with rocks and eggs in Israel's streets, all because she was calling for peace.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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