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egg1 definition

egg (eg)

noun

  1. the oval or round body laid by a female bird, fish, reptile, insect, etc., containing a supply of nutrients, a protective membrane, and, when fertilized, the embryo of a new individual: many kinds of eggs have a thin, brittle shell as an outer covering
  2. a reproductive cell produced by a female animal or plant; ovum
    also called egg cell
  3. the egg of a domestic fowl; specif., the liquid contents of a hen's egg, as used in cooking
  4. a thing resembling a hen's egg
  5. Slang a person he's a good egg

Etymology: ME < ON, replacing native ey < OE æg, akin to Ger ei (pl. eier), prob. < IE base *owjom-, *ojom-, of a bird (> L ovum, Gr ōion) < *awei-, bird (> L avis)

transitive verb

  1. to mix or cover with the yolk or white of eggs, as in cooking
  2. ☆ Informal to throw eggs at
egg Idioms

egg on one's face

Informal embarrassment due to an obvious blunder

lay an egg

☆
Informal to fail completely: said of a joke, theatrical performance, entertainer, etc.

put all one's eggs in one basket

or have all one's eggs in one basket
to risk all that one has on a single venture, method, etc.
egg2 definition

egg (eg)

transitive verb

to urge or incite: with on

Etymology: ME eggen < ON eggja, lit., to give edge to < egg, edge

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms egg idiom

medical egg definition - medical

egg Synonyms

egg

n.

  1. ovum, seed, germ, spawn, roe, bud, embryo, nucleus, cell, berry*, hen fruit*.

    Eggs commonly used as food include: hen, duck, goose, quail, turtle, fish, ostrich, guinea hen.

  2. Sizes and grades of eggs include: fancy, select, farm, ranch, western, day-old, fresh, cold-storage, large pullet, medium, small, large, jumbo, white, brown; grade AA, A, B.

  3. Prepared eggs include: fried, scrambled, poached, deviled, coddled, hard boiled, hard-cooked, soft boiled, soft-cooked, creamed, shirred, stuffed, soufflé, raw, buttered, baked, on toast, dropped, goldenrod; egg salad, ham and eggs, bacon and eggs, eggs Benedict, omelet, frittata, egg foo yong, over easy*, sunnyside up*, up*, bull's eye*, two shipwrecked on a raft*.

lay an egg*

be unsuccessful, fall flat, bomb*; see fail 1.

put <strong>or </strong>have all one's eggs in one basket*

chance, gamble, venture; see risk.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

egg Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • fertilize: For example, research into the way genes control limb development in the fertilized chicken egg provides insight into how human limbs develop.

Adjective modifier

  • scrambled: Beat the eggs with a little water and stir them in as for scrambled eggs.

Modifies a noun

  • yolk: Brush the pastry case with the egg yolk mixture to glaze the pastry.

Noun used with modifier

  • easter: Chelsea Chelsea's excited group had refreshments and football Easter eggs for their first session.

Possessives

  • curate: Gift from the Gods is a curate's egg really: long in technical merit, short on excitement.

Preposition: in

  • basket: An old adage cautions against carrying all of your eggs in a single basket.

Preposition: from

  • ovary: The fallopian tubes carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
egg usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

egg quotes

All the egg heads are in one basket.

-Anonymous

A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.

-Butler, Samuel

   'It's very provoking,' Humpty Dumpty said after a long silence, looking away from Alice as he spoke,'to be called an eggövery!'

-Dodgson

egg quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"egg." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/egg>

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egg. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/egg

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