umbilical cord

noun

1

a

: a cord arising from the navel that connects the fetus with the placenta and through which respiratory gases, nutrients, and wastes pass

b

: yolk stalk

2

: a tethering or supply line (as for an astronaut outside a spacecraft or a diver underwater)

3

: a necessary, supportive, or nurturing link or connection

Examples of umbilical cord in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Doctors think some of those clots or a piece of the placenta broke free and went up through the umbilical cord to the brain, said Dr. Ashley Lucke, a neonatologist and co-director of the neuro-NICU program. —Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman, 30 Dec. 2024

The stump of the baby girl's umbilical cord was still soft. —Abu Bakr Bashir, NPR, 5 Dec. 2024

Babies who experience complications at birth, such as their umbilical cord becoming wrapped around their neck, have a higher risk of autism. —Liz Szabo, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2024

Circular sheets of corneal cells, generated using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) derived from umbilical cord blood, were transplanted into four patients aged between 39 and 72 with corneal epithelial stem cell deficiency. —Juergen Eckhardt, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

umbilical cord

noun

um·​bil·​i·​cal cord

ˌəm-ˈbil-i-kəl-

: a cord that contains blood vessels and connects the navel of a fetus with the placenta of the mother

Medical Definition

umbilical cord

noun

: a cord arising from the navel that connects the fetus with the placenta and contains the two umbilical arteries and the umbilical vein