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egg

egg

∞ 1.0
An oval object laid by birds and some animals that you eat
  • noun
  • /ɛɡ/
: huevo
  • An egg, even a fertilized egg, is still an egg and not a chicken.
  • boiled egg
  • egg laying
  • clutch of eggs

The trouble is, you know, eggs and cakes.

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Examples

  • I'm saying can you fry an egg that looks good?

  • The farm sells fresh organic eggs collected daily from free-range chickens.

  • Gonna make you some eggs, alright, love?

  • - Uh, do you want me to cook you some eggs or something?

  • Oh yeah, I love mini eggs, yes I do.

  • - Because eggs bubble when you cook them.

  • OK, let's add some eggs, milk and butter.

  • Professor Grant had found most of the dinosaur eggs that had ever been discovered.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We were allowed to collect a mason jar of frog eggs to bring home and watch.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Little Reena came up to me with a giant smile on her face and handed me an egg that their chicken had laid.

Idioms

good egg
  • Informal
7 6.1

A person who is kind, honest and easy to trust

A saying that you should not expect a wild person or thing to behave calmly

Compounds

37 1.0

A decorated or chocolate egg given at Easter

33 1.0

The clear liquid around an egg yolk that turns white and solid when cooked

26 1.4

A Chinese fried food made by wrapping meat and vegetables in thin dough

23 3.4

Money saved for the future, for example for retirement or emergencies

21 1.0

An egg cooked in its shell in boiling water until the white and yolk are set

19 1.0

The yellow part inside an egg that feeds a developing chick and makes food richer

14 1.0

An egg cooked in oil or butter in a pan until the white sets

12 2.4

A hard-boiled egg cut in half with the yolk mixed with mayonnaise and spices spooned back into the white

fertilized egg
  • Specialized
11 2.9

An egg joined with a sperm that starts to grow into an embryo

An egg boiled until the white and yolk are solid

goose egg
  • Informal
9 8.1

A score or total of zero

9 2.3

An egg cooked in hot water without its shell

8 6.7

A cold sweet drink with milk, chocolate syrup, and soda water, without egg or cream

bad egg
  • Offensive
7 5.6

A person who cannot be trusted and may lie or steal

5 3.5

A sweet milk drink made with eggs and cream, often served at Christmas

5 1.5

Animals, especially birds, make eggs and put them in a nest

egg cell
  • Specialized
5 3.6

A female cell that can join with a sperm to grow into a new animal or plant

4 1.7

A small kitchen tool that shows how long to boil eggs

3 2.0

A thin noodle made from wheat flour and eggs used in soups and main dishes

A sweet made of chocolate in the shape of an egg

1 2.5

An egg cooked in the oven with cream or butter in a small dish

nest egg
  • Archaic
1 7.5

A fake egg placed in a chicken coop to make hens lay in one spot

1 5.2

An egg cooked gently in its shell in hot water so the white becomes set and the yolk stays soft

duck's egg
  • Jargon
1 9.9

A cricket player scoring zero runs

1 1.0

An egg boiled until the white and yolk are solid

1 1.0

A small sweet shaped like an egg often given at Easter

1 1.0

A small dish that holds a boiled egg upright in its shell

egg-laying mammal
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A mammal that lays eggs, like the platypus or echidna

1 4.8

A hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage, coated with breadcrumbs, then fried or baked and eaten cold as a snack

1 6.9

A Chinese omelette made with vegetables and meat, served with brown sauce

1 2.3

A hard-boiled egg cut in half with the yolk mixed with mayonnaise and spices and put back into the white

1 2.8

A small kitchen tool for cracking eggs and separating yolk from white

1 2.3

An egg cooked gently in hot water without its shell

1 2.1

Having eggs inside

shirred egg
  • Specialized
1 7.7

An egg baked in a small dish with cream until the white sets and yolk stays soft

rotten egg gas
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A dangerous gas that smells like rotten eggs

egg-and-dart
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A decorative border with egg-shaped parts next to pointed shapes used on classical buildings

An egg cooked in a small dish with cream or butter

1 9.9

Something like a book or film that has good and bad parts

egg candler
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A light that lets you look inside an egg to check its quality without breaking the shell

1 2.2

A small egg-shaped sweet made of soft jelly with a sugar coating often eaten at Easter

egg yield
  • Specialized
1 3.2

The number of eggs a hen lays in a given time, like a day or a year

1 6.1

A Chinese omelet with beaten eggs, vegetables, and meat served with sauce

1 6.5

A small round eggplant that people eat as a vegetable in West Africa

egg-and-anchor
  • Specialized
9.9

A decorative border with egg shapes and anchor shapes

egg-and-tongue
  • Specialized
9.8

A decorative border with egg-shaped figures alternating with small pointed shapes

An egg of a tiny saltwater shrimp sold in pet kits to hatch

How Mature

adult
18 1.0
juvenile
60 3.9
fledgling
2 6.1
eyas
  • Archaic
1 9.9
hatchling
11 3.5
egg
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

egg singular
eggs plural

Etymology

Egg comes from an old Germanic word æg and is like German Ei and Dutch ei, all meaning 'egg'. That's why egg still means the oval object birds lay and we often eat.