ovum

IPA/ˈəʊvəm/
KK[ˈovəm]IPA/ˈəʊvəm/

ovum — noun

  • ovumsingular
  • ovaplural

1. a female cell in a person, animal, or plant that can start new life after it joi

1.nounC1
Definition

a female cell in a person, animal, or plant that can start new life after it joins with a male cell.

Example

Dr. Chen pointed to the ovum beside a sperm cell on the slide.

ovum beside a sperm cell in biology teaching

The lab froze each donated ovum before the couple started treatment.

freeze a donated ovum for fertility treatment

Common collocations
  • fertilized ovum
  • donated ovum
  • human ovum
  • release an ovum
Synonyms
  • egg cell

    the clearer everyday biology term, especially in teaching

  • oocyte

    a more technical term that can name an immature stage

Antonyms
  • sperm

    the male reproductive cell that can join with an ovum

Grammar Patterns

an ovum

release/fertilize/freeze + an ovum

ovum + joins with + sperm cell

Usage Note

Mainly used in biology or fertility medicine. In everyday speech, people usually say 'egg' or 'egg cell' instead of 'ovum'.

Common Mistakes

The farmer sold fresh ova for breakfast.
The farmer sold fresh eggs for breakfast.
ovum and ova are scientific terms, not the usual words for food.
The doctor examined many ovums.
The doctor examined many ova.
the usual scientific plural is 'ova', not 'ovums'.

Word family

  • ovarian
    adjectiveC2
  • ovulate
    verbC2
  • ovulation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These three words all refer to the female reproductive cell, but they differ in register and precision. Ovum is the formal scientific term and often appears in medical writing, fertility treatment, and textbooks. Egg cell is the plainer teaching term; it is easier for learners and non-specialists to understand at once. Oocyte is even more technical and is often used when doctors or researchers want to name a particular stage before full maturation or fertilization. In a school diagram, 'egg cell' is usually the clearest choice. In a clinic report or biology paper, 'ovum' sounds more standard. Use 'oocyte' when the stage of development matters.

ovum ↗egg celloocyte ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • freeze an ovum
  • fertilize an ovum
  • release an ovum

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Ovum comes straight from Latin, where it meant 'egg'. English first used it in scientific writing to name the female reproductive cell, keeping the Latin form instead of turning it into an everyday English word. That is why it still sounds formal and is mostly used in biology and medical contexts, while ordinary conversation usually keeps the simpler word 'egg'.