EMBRYO

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does embryo mean? 

• EMBRYO (noun)
  The noun EMBRYO has 2 senses:

1. (botany) a minute rudimentary plant contained within a seed or an archegonium

2. an animal organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation that in higher forms merge into fetal stages but in lower forms terminate in commencement of larval life

  Familiarity information: EMBRYO used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EMBRYO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(botany) a minute rudimentary plant contained within a seed or an archegonium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("embryo" is a kind of...):

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Domain category:

botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An animal organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation that in higher forms merge into fetal stages but in lower forms terminate in commencement of larval life

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

conceptus; embryo; fertilized egg

Hypernyms ("embryo" is a kind of...):

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Meronyms (parts of "embryo"):

umbilical; umbilical cord (membranous duct connecting the fetus with the placenta)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "embryo"):

blastosphere; blastula (early stage of an embryo produced by cleavage of an ovum; a liquid-filled sphere whose wall is composed of a single layer of cells; during this stage (about eight days after fertilization) implantation in the wall of the uterus occurs)

gastrula (double-walled stage of the embryo resulting from invagination of the blastula; the outer layer of cells is the ectoderm and the inner layer differentiates into the mesoderm and endoderm)

morula (a solid mass of blastomeres that forms when the zygote splits; develops into the blastula)

Derivation:

embryonal (of an organism prior to birth or hatching)

embryonic (in an early stage of development)

embryonic (of an organism prior to birth or hatching)

embryotic (in an early stage of development)

 Context examples 

It collects waste from the embryo.

(Allantois, NCI Thesaurus)

Endothelial cord in the cardiogenic mesoderm of the embryo that appears in the third week of gestation.

(Angioblastic Cord, NCI Thesaurus)

ATRA is made in the body from vitamin A and helps cells to grow and develop, especially in the embryo.

(ATRA, NCI Dictionary)

All-trans retinoic acid is made in the body from vitamin A and helps cells to grow and develop, especially in the embryo.

(All-trans retinoic acid, NCI Dictionary)

Haploid offspring from individual females of the AB line were screened for healthy, good looking embryos.

(AB Zebrafish, NCI Thesaurus)

They found the Protoceratops embryo was about three months old and the Hypacrosaurus about six months.

(Slow-cooking dinosaur eggs may have contributed to extinction, Wikinews)

Cell movement is crucial for embryo development, immune defense, and tissue repair and regeneration.

(New Mechanism of Cell Movement Revealed, NIH)

The researchers found that mice without Cc2d2a were unable to develop past the early embryo stage.

(Protein critical to cilia development, NIH)

Biospecimen can contain one or more components including but not limited to cellular molecules, cells, tissues, organs, body fluids, embryos, and body excretory products.

(Biospecimen, NCI Thesaurus)

This includes particular types of cellular molecules, cells, tissues, organs, body fluids, embryos, and body excretory substances.

(Biospecimen Type, NCI Thesaurus)