Standard Lemma guide

ovipositor

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /əʊvɪˈpɒzɪtə/
  • General-American: /oʊvɪˈpɑzɪtɚ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A tubular protruding organ for laying eggs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

egg-laying tubular structure at the end of the abdomen in many female insects and some fishes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: organ

History

Etymology

From ovi- (“egg”) + Latin positor (“one who places”, agent noun form of pōnere).

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: яйцеполага́ло (jajcepolagálo) — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Catalan: oviscapte — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Dutch: legboor — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Finnish: munanasetin — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Greek: ωοθέτης (oothétis) — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Greek: ωοαποθέτης (ooapothétis) — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Irish: ubhlonnaitheoir — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Italian: ovopositore — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Macedonian: легалка (legalka) — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Māori: pūtukuhua — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Māori: pūwhānauhua — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Portuguese: ovipositor — tubular organ for laying eggs
  • Spanish: ovipositor — tubular organ for laying eggs