artificial insemination

IPA/ˌɑːtɪfɪʃl ɪnˌsemɪˈneɪʃn/
IPA/ˌɑːrtɪfɪʃl ɪnˌsemɪˈneɪʃn/

artificial insemination — noun

1. a medical method of helping a female get pregnant by placing sperm directly into

1.nounC1
Definition

a medical method of helping a female get pregnant by placing sperm directly into her body, rather than through sexual contact

Example

After years of trying, Marta and her husband chose artificial insemination at a fertility clinic.

choose + artificial insemination at a clinic

The dairy farmer used artificial insemination to breed stronger, healthier cows on his farm.

artificial insemination for animal breeding

Common collocations
  • undergo artificial insemination
  • donor artificial insemination
  • artificial insemination clinic
  • artificial insemination programme
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

through / by + artificial insemination

undergo + artificial insemination

Usage Note

Often shortened to 'AI' in farming and veterinary contexts. Applies both to people (at fertility clinics) and to animals, where it is the standard way to breed cattle and horses. Takes 'through' or 'by' when stating how a pregnancy began, and pairs with verbs like 'undergo', 'perform', or 'carry out'.

Common Mistakes

They used artificial insemination, where the egg is fertilised in a lab dish.
They used in vitro fertilisation (IVF), where the egg is fertilised in a lab dish.
In artificial insemination the sperm is placed inside the body; only IVF fertilises the egg outside it.
The vet made an artificial insemination to the cow.
The vet performed artificial insemination on the cow.
Use 'perform' or 'carry out' artificial insemination, not 'make'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These terms all relate to helping a pregnancy happen, but they differ in scope and in where fertilisation takes place. Insemination simply means putting sperm into the female reproductive system; on its own it does not say whether this happens naturally or with help. Artificial insemination narrows that down to a medical procedure in which sperm is placed inside the body using instruments instead of sex — the egg is still fertilised inside the female. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is different: an egg and sperm are joined outside the body, in a laboratory, and the resulting embryo is then transferred back. Fertility treatment is the broadest term and acts as an umbrella over both artificial insemination and IVF, along with hormone therapy and other methods. For everyday talk about clinics, 'fertility treatment' is safest; use 'artificial insemination' or 'IVF' when the specific technique matters.

artificial insemination ↗in vitro fertilisation (IVF)fertility treatmentinsemination ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • artificial insemination programme
  • donor insemination
  • fertility clinic

Phrases

  • perform artificial insemination
  • carry out artificial insemination

Prepositions

  • through artificial insemination
  • by artificial insemination

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The phrase joins two Latin-rooted words. 'Artificial' comes from Latin 'artificialis', from 'ars' (skill, art) and 'facere' (to make) — literally something made by human skill rather than occurring in nature. 'Insemination' comes from Latin 'inseminare', built from 'in-' (into) and 'semen' (seed), so its first sense was the planting of seed. Joined together since the 18th–19th centuries, the term names the human-made planting of sperm to start a pregnancy.

First known use

1881

1881, in the meaning defined above