Illustration of egg
- 1 shell
- 2 outer shell membrane
- 3 inner shell membrane
- 4 air space
- 5 chalaza
- 6 albumen or white layers
- 7 yolk layers
- 8 blastodisc
- 9 vitelline membrane
often attributive
1
a
: 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
c
: ovum
2
: something resembling an egg
eggless
adjective
Synonyms
Examples of egg in a Sentence
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
Recent Examples on the Web
James Grebey, TIME, 10 May 2024
For a hearty meal, consider traditional minestrone soup to start, followed by a pasta course of a single ravioli stuffed with ricotta and egg yolk.
—Samantha Dimauro, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2024
See the fight:Quail protects her eggs from snake in this uniquely Arizona video
Arizona Republic reporter Tiffany Acosta contributed to this article.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
Pour the filling mixture into the cooled piecrust, and top evenly with egg mixture.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 8 May 2024
The Vermont maple farm burger includes two beef patties, bacon, a fried egg and sharp cheddar cheese — with a maple syrup and onion aioli — on a locally baked brioche bun.
—Philip Freeman, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2024
Banks almost had a primary challenger in egg tycoon John Rust, but Rust got knocked off the ballot due to his prior voting record.
—Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 7 May 2024
The production of animal products (milk, other dairy products, eggs, and meat) can decrease drastically.
—Shweta Bansal and Colleen Webb, STAT, 7 May 2024
In addition to their acting careers, Frey and Massey run Elevate, a surrogacy and egg retrieval agency.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 6 May 2024
Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Think of Jets and Sharks decked out in buckskins or Yankee blue, ambling down our grubby streets, swapping mad-dog stares or whistling a few bars of those taunting tunes — pushing, egging, daring someone to start something.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Geyser stabbed Leutner repeatedly while Weier egged her on.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Playing Braff’s onscreen father is William Fichtner, egging him on to put a ring on it.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
That was certainly true on Tuesday, with Watts the boisterous cheerleader egging people on with arms, eyebrows and expressions.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
After two armed men dressed in black enter, Gardner eggs them on despite their hesitancy to engage with her.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
But Russia will still egg the axis on, encouraging its anti-American designs and working to make its attacks more effective.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024
While crossing, the singer’s travel companion waited across the street, egging her on.
—Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
So many modern franchises are built around Easter eggs, and major plot points are an excuse to bring back something from earlier in the franchise that will reward dedicated fans for recognizing it.
—James Grebey, TIME, 10 May 2024
For a hearty meal, consider traditional minestrone soup to start, followed by a pasta course of a single ravioli stuffed with ricotta and egg yolk.
—Samantha Dimauro, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2024
See the fight:Quail protects her eggs from snake in this uniquely Arizona video
Arizona Republic reporter Tiffany Acosta contributed to this article.
—Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
Pour the filling mixture into the cooled piecrust, and top evenly with egg mixture.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 8 May 2024
The Vermont maple farm burger includes two beef patties, bacon, a fried egg and sharp cheddar cheese — with a maple syrup and onion aioli — on a locally baked brioche bun.
—Philip Freeman, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2024
Banks almost had a primary challenger in egg tycoon John Rust, but Rust got knocked off the ballot due to his prior voting record.
—Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 7 May 2024
The production of animal products (milk, other dairy products, eggs, and meat) can decrease drastically.
—Shweta Bansal and Colleen Webb, STAT, 7 May 2024
In addition to their acting careers, Frey and Massey run Elevate, a surrogacy and egg retrieval agency.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 6 May 2024
Verb
Four juveniles egged and TPed a house, then drove by multiple times.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Think of Jets and Sharks decked out in buckskins or Yankee blue, ambling down our grubby streets, swapping mad-dog stares or whistling a few bars of those taunting tunes — pushing, egging, daring someone to start something.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Geyser stabbed Leutner repeatedly while Weier egged her on.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Playing Braff’s onscreen father is William Fichtner, egging him on to put a ring on it.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
That was certainly true on Tuesday, with Watts the boisterous cheerleader egging people on with arms, eyebrows and expressions.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
After two armed men dressed in black enter, Gardner eggs them on despite their hesitancy to engage with her.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
But Russia will still egg the axis on, encouraging its anti-American designs and working to make its attacks more effective.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024
While crossing, the singer’s travel companion waited across the street, egging her on.
—Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'egg.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near egg
Cite this Entry
“Egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egg. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
egg
2 of 2 noun1
a
: 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 also ovum
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)
Medical Definition
egg
noun1
: 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
3
: ovum
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share