| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| egg1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |   g |
| NOUN: | 1a. A female gamete; an ovum. Also called egg cell. b. The round or oval female reproductive body of various animals, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and insects, consisting usually of an embryo surrounded by nutrient material and a protective covering. c. The oval, thin-shelled reproductive body of a bird, especially that of a hen, used as food. 2. Something having the ovoid shape of an egg. 3. Slang A fellow; a person: He's a good egg. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: egged, egg·ing, eggs
1. To cover with beaten egg, as in cooking. 2. Slang To throw eggs at. | | IDIOMS: | egg on (one's) face Informal Embarrassment; humiliation: If you do that, you'll end up with egg on your face. lay an egg Informal To fail, especially in a public performance. put (or have) all (one's) eggs in one basket Informal To risk everything on a single venture. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English egge, bird's egg, from Old Norse egg. See awi- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | egg less —ADJECTIVE
eggy —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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