| / English Dictionary |
OVAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
Example:
the sums of the distances from the foci to any point on an ellipse is constant
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("oval" is a kind of...):
conic; conic section ((geometry) a curve generated by the intersection of a plane and a circular cone)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oval"):
circle (ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point)
Derivation:
oval (rounded like an egg)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Rounded like an egg
Synonyms:
egg-shaped; elliptic; elliptical; oval; oval-shaped; ovate; oviform; ovoid; prolate
Classified under:
Similar:
rounded (curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged)
Derivation:
oval (a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb oval
Context examples:
The cool, dusty ring has an oval shape, with its long axis spanning about 35 light-years and its short axis about 25 light-years.
(Herschel sees budding stars and a giant, strange ring, NASA)
It is composed of round to oval mesenchymal cells, small signet ring lipoblasts, and a rich network of capillaries in a myxoid stroma.
(Myxoid Liposarcoma, NCI Thesaurus)
The oval seal is undoubtedly a plain sleeve-link—what else is of such a shape?
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The nuclei are small and round to oval in shape.
(Mouse Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia-1A, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)
It is oval and reaches 4-7 cm in size.
(Morinda citrifolia, NCI Thesaurus)
One of four small oval masses that protrude slightly from the underside of the thalamus and function as synaptic centers on the way to the cerebral cortex.
(Geniculate Body, NCI Thesaurus)
An oval, membrane covered opening from the tympanic cavity of the middle ear to the vestibule of the inner ear.
(Fenestra Ovalis, NCI Thesaurus)
A rare, slow-growing, locally aggressive soft tissue tumor characterized by the presence of oval to spindle cells forming concentric aggregates around small vessels.
(Giant Cell Angioblastoma, NCI Thesaurus)
Groups of uniform small cells with scant cytoplasm and round to oval nuclei with dense speckled chromatin form clusters thickening bronchiolar wall and/or protruding into the lumen.
(Neuroendocrine Hyperplasia of the Mouse Pulmonary System, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)
They are usually round or oval and no larger than a pencil eraser.
(Moles, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
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