Is egg a common word in everyday English?

Yes. It is a very common word for food and animal eggs.

What is the difference between egg and ovum?

Egg is the everyday word. Ovum is a scientific or formal word for the female reproductive cell.

Yes. In informal English, egg someone on means to encourage them to do something.

How do I use egg in a sentence?

You can say, 'I ate an egg,' or 'The bird laid an egg.'

← Dictionary

egg

/eɡ/

IELTSAcademic

noun

An egg is an oval object laid by a female bird, fish, reptile, or insect. People often mean a bird's egg, especially one eaten as food.

The hen laid two eggs today.
I had toast and an egg for breakfast.
Bird eggs can be very small or very large.

verb

To egg someone on means to encourage them, often to do something silly or bad.

His friends egged him on to jump in.
Don't let them egg you on.
She egged her brother on during the argument.

Adinary Nuance

Egg is the simple, everyday word. Use egg for the food or the thing laid by an animal. It is more common and natural than scientific words like ovum, which you see in biology, not daily speech.

In other languages

Vietnamese: trứng
Spanish: huevo
Chinese: 鸡蛋
Japanese: 卵
Korean: 달걀

Etymology

The word comes from Old English æg, from a Germanic source. It has been used in English for more than 1,000 years.

Common phrases

fried eggboiled eggegg yolkegg white

Synonyms

ovum egg cell

Related words

hen yolk white shell

Frequently asked questions

Is egg a common word in everyday English?: Yes. It is a very common word for food and animal eggs.
What is the difference between egg and ovum?: Egg is the everyday word. Ovum is a scientific or formal word for the female reproductive cell.
Can egg be a verb?: Yes. In informal English, egg someone on means to encourage them to do something.
How do I use egg in a sentence?: You can say, 'I ate an egg,' or 'The bird laid an egg.'