: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken
also: its contents used as food
b
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
Noun
The egg will hatch about 10 days after it is laid.
the smell of rotten eggs
I bought a carton of eggs.
a batter made from flour and egg
The egg is fertilized by the sperm. Verb (1)
though exhausted, I was egged on by spectators to finish the marathon
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Noun
The recall, issued by ZB Importing LLC and posted Thursday by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, states that wheat, egg and/or milk were not declared on the products' labels.—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025 Get The Recipe 21 of 50 Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Tater tots, cheese, eggs, and bacon—these are a few of our favorite things!—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 20 Feb. 2025
Verb
Geyser repeatedly stabbed Leutner as Weier egged her on, prosecutors have said.—David K. Li, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025 When the university received multiple reports of vandalism targeted at a Jewish student − including that his home was egged, his door defaced and feces smeared around his home − the university did not assess the situation.—Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for egg
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English egge, from Old Norse egg; akin to Old English ǣg egg, Latin ovum, Greek ōion
Verb (1)
Middle English, from Old Norse eggja; akin to Old English ecg edge — more at edge
: a hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by domestic poultry
also: its contents used as food
b
: a reproductive body produced by an animal and consisting of an ovum with its food-containing and protecting envelopes and being capable of development into a new individual
c
: a germ cell produced by a female
called alsoovum
2
: something shaped like an egg
darning egg
Etymology
Verb
Old Norse eggja "to incite"
Noun
Middle English egge "egg," from early Norse egg (same meaning)
: the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)
2
: an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence
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