egg laying
3
1.5
- noun
:
puesta de huevos
- When there are many pools and puddles of standing water, the females can go through three biting and egg-laying cycles before the virus becomes infectious.
- female egg laying
The line between live birth and egg laying is blurry and complicated.
- The line between live birth and egg laying is blurry and complicated.
Examples
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A mosquito's timing of her egg laying must be precise, because the predatory effectiveness of pitcher plant leaves varies with their age.
Academic text (1992) -
Usually, only 60 percent of the parents are successful in fledging a chick (most losses occur at egg laying or hatching).
Academic text (1995) -
But the egg-laying stage appears to be over.
Fiction book (1997) -
The line between live birth and egg laying is blurry and complicated.
-
My dad has 50+ egg-laying hens that are free range.
Blog text (31) -
Roughly 100 tons/day of manure are generated by the egg-laying operation.
Academic text (1998) -
Thus, the female mosquito's egg-laying behavior anticipates the future needs of her offspring.
Academic text (1992) -
The onset of egg laying in gentoo penguins, even at the same colony, can vary by three to five weeks from year to year.
Academic text (2008) -
Only a few of the hundred-odd Southeast Asian mosquito species that use this specialized habitat have been able to shift their egg-laying and larval development into human-made containers.
Academic text (1992) -
During the spring season, many birds engage in egg laying to ensure the survival of their young.
Synonyms
16
1.3
The act of birds, like chickens, producing eggs
1
8.5
To lay eggs, especially by insects or fish
A way animals have babies by laying eggs that develop and hatch outside the mother's body
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the act of producing or depositing eggs' is directly and transparently built from the constituents 'egg' (the object) and 'lay' (to deposit), with the -ing nominalization marking the action. This is a straightforward compositional pattern (egg + lay → egg-laying) common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Egg laying comes from a simple, literal scene: a bird or other animal puts an egg into a nest, which is the act of laying an egg. That's why egg laying means 'the act of producing or depositing eggs'.