Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Resembling an egg in shape.
  • adjective Resembling an ellipse in shape; elliptical.
  • noun An egg-shaped or elliptical form or figure.
  • noun An elliptical track, as for racing or athletic events.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to an egg.
  • Having the shape of or resembling the longitudinal section of an egg; hence, elliptical.
  • In zoology and botany, broadly elliptical, or elliptical with the breadth considerably more than half the length.
  • noun A figure in the general shape of the lengthwise outline of an egg, or resembling the longitudinal section of an egg.
  • noun Something which has such a shape, as a plot of ground, or an open place in a city: as, Berkeley oval; “The Oval” at Kensington, London.
  • noun Specifically, same as cartouche, 4.
  • noun See the adjectives.
  • Of, pertaining to, or used in an ovation: as, triumphal, oval, and civil crowns.
  • noun Specifically, in athletics, an elliptical field, or one on which an elliptical track is laid out.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A body or figure in the shape of an egg, or popularly, of an ellipse.
  • noun (Geom.) the locus of a point the product of whose distances from two fixed points is constant; -- so called from Cassini, who first investigated the curve. Thus, in the diagram, if P moves so that P A.P B is constant, the point P describes a Cassinian oval. The locus may consist of a single closed line, as shown by the dotted line, or of two equal ovals about the points A and B.
  • adjective obsolete Of or pertaining to eggs; done in the egg, or inception.
  • adjective Having the figure of an egg; oblong and curvilinear, with one end broader than the other, or with both ends of about the same breadth; in popular usage, elliptical.
  • adjective (Bot.) Broadly elliptical.
  • adjective (Mech.) a lathe chuck so constructed that work attached to it, and cut by the turning tool in the usual manner, becomes of an oval form.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A shape rather like an egg or an ellipse.
  • noun A sporting arena etc. of this shape.
  • adjective Having the shape of an oval.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to an ovum.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • adjective rounded like an egg

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin ōvālis, from Latin ōvum, egg; see awi- in Indo-European roots.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word oval.

Examples

  • Only legacy he can give at this time is to clear the table in oval office for Obama and get out of the way. —

    The Early Word: A Tale of Two Presidents - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • You are banned for life because of your indecent activities in oval office.

    Bill Clinton says Chelsea may go into politics 2008

  • The windows were custom built in oval shapes; the doors were of inlaid panels with rounded corners that meant all the doorjambs and casings had to be hand carved.

    A trip to Puerto Angel 2008

  • The windows were custom built in oval shapes; the doors were of inlaid panels with rounded corners that meant all the doorjambs and casings had to be hand carved.

    A trip to Puerto Angel 2008

  • The third baker, if I recall correctly, then rolled the rumpled cylinder flat into a large, thin oval, but using granulated sugar as the rolling medium.

    Pasta pastry 2006

  • Hot chocolate is served at his restaurants in oval-shaped cups tapered at one end called "hug mugs" that are cradled in hands.

    Getting Your Chocoholic Fix | Impact Lab 2006

  • “The empty front lawn requiring mowing, watering and weeding previously on this location has been removed,” reads a placard set amid veggies in oval planting beds fronting the street.

    Edible Estates 2005

  • To allow a wide hook gap, the top of the oval is flattened, while the rounded bottom acts as a keel to hold the jig upright.

    Flip a Jig-and-Pig for Big Bass 2005

  • Today, the Ford oval is a familiar sight in more than 200 countries and territories around the world, and the makeup of Ford's worldwide management team represents a rich diversity of nationalities and cultures.

    The Auto Industry: Structuring for Survival in the Global Market of the '90s 1992

  • A certain oval basket with a vaulted cover, of which specimens are preserved in the British Museum, seems still to be the pattern most in demand at Assûan.

    A Thousand Miles Up the Nile 1891

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.