ovulation

noun

ovu·​la·​tion ˌä vyə-ˈlā-shən  ˌō- 

: the discharge of a mature ovum from the ovary

Doctors have found that a few days before ovulation, as many as 30 to 50 egg follicles have begun to mature. Normally, only one will fully ripen … and the rest are lost.

—Mary Duenwald

In principle, ovulation takes place midway through a 28-day … cycle.

—Judith N. Schwartz

Examples of ovulation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There's also a blood-oxygen-level-tracking pulse oximeter – which can be used to detect sleep apnea, and to measure stress or energy expenditure – along with an optical skin temperature sensor for gauging body temperature or tracking ovulation. —Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 8 Apr. 2025

Public health experts say the curriculum should be expanded to include all parts of the menstrual cycle, including ovulation signs and the luteal phase, which is when conception typically occurs and can last 12 to 14 days. —Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025

Rollicking home births, c-sections, traumatic hospital events, in-vitro budgets, ovulation apps, nine-month nausea, antidepressants, and sleeping pills. —Hazlitt, 5 Mar. 2025

During each monthly cycle, there are three distinct phases that the body moves through, known as the follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

ovule or its source, Medieval Latin ōvulum + -ation

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ovulation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Medical Definition

ovulation

noun

ovu·​la·​tion ˌäv-yə-ˈlā-shən 

also

ˌōv- 

: the discharge of a mature ovum from the ovary

The persistent high level of estrogen induces an abrupt release of luteinizing hormone from the pituitary gland, and this hormonal surge then triggers ovulation.

—Hsiu-Wei Su et al., Bioengineering & Translational Medicine