uterus
n. countablen. the organ in the body of a female mammal where a baby grows before it is born. It is also called the womb.
n. the hollow, muscular organ in female mammals in which the zygote is implanted and the embryo and fetus are developed.
The fetus develops inside the uterus for nine months.
During a routine ultrasound, the doctor checked the position of the placenta within the uterus.
The walls of the uterus undergo significant physiological changes during the menstrual cycle to prepare for the potential implantation of a fertilized egg.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *úderos Latin uteruslbor. English uterus Learned borrowing from Latin uterus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly used in medical and biological contexts; 'womb' is the more frequent term in literary or everyday emotional contexts.
- Nounuterus
- Adjectiveuterine
Last updated May 6, 2026