eggs

"Eggs" is the plural of "egg" — a word with a surprisingly wide range of meanings! Most commonly, you think of the oval objects laid by birds, but "egg" also appears as a verb and in some figurative uses. Here are the most important senses.

1nounfood / biology

An egg is the oval or round object produced by a female bird, reptile, or fish, which may contain a developing baby animal. In everyday life, when people say 'eggs', they almost always mean chicken eggs — one of the most common foods in the world. Think of the egg you crack open to make breakfast.

everyday language, cooking, biology · Modern, widely used

She boiled two eggs for breakfast.

The nest had three small blue eggs in it.

This recipe needs four eggs and a cup of flour.

2nounreproductive cell

In biology, an egg (also called an egg cell or ovum) is the female reproductive cell in humans and animals. It is the cell that joins with a sperm cell to create a new life. You will see this sense in science classes or medical contexts.

science, medicine, biology · Modern, widely used

The doctor explained that a human egg cell is released once a month.

Fertilization happens when a sperm reaches the egg.

Scientists studied the frog's eggs under a microscope.

3verbfigurativeto encourage someone to do something

When you 'egg someone on', you encourage or push them to do something — usually something risky, silly, or that they are hesitant to do. You are not physically doing anything; you are using words or pressure to motivate them. This phrase is almost always used as 'egg on', not alone.

everyday language · Modern, widely used · figurative

His friends egged him on to jump into the cold water.

She didn't want to argue, but her brother kept egging her on.

The crowd egged the performer on to do one more song.

4nounfigurativea person (informal, old-fashioned)

In older or informal British English, 'egg' was used to describe a person, usually with an adjective in front of it. For example, a 'good egg' means a kind, reliable person, and a 'bad egg' means someone untrustworthy. You won't hear this much in modern conversation, but you may read it in older books.

informal, everyday language · Informal, more common in older texts · figurative

Don't worry about him — he's a good egg.

Turns out he was a bad egg who couldn't be trusted.

She's a tough egg, but fair.