umbilical cord

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ʌmˈbɪlɪkəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ʌmˈbɪlɪkəl ˈkɔrd/


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
um•bil•i•cal cord /ʌmˈbɪlɪkəl ˈkɔrd/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Developmental Biologya cordlike structure connecting the unborn baby or fetus with the mother's placenta during pregnancy, bringing nourishment from the mother and removing wastes.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
umbilical cord′, 
    1. Anatomya cord or funicle connecting the embryo or fetus with the placenta of the mother and transporting nourishment from the mother and wastes from the fetus.
    2. Electricity, Rocketryany electrical, fuel, or other cable or connection for servicing, operating, or testing equipment, as in a rocket or missile, that is disconnected from the equipment at completion.
    3. [Aerospace Slang.]a strong lifeline by which an astronaut on a spacewalk is connected to the vehicle and supplied with air, a communication system, etc.
    • 1965–70 for def. 2 1745–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
umbilical cord n
  1. the long flexible tubelike structure connecting a fetus with the placenta: it provides a means of metabolic interchange with the mother
  2. any flexible cord, tube, or cable used to transfer information, power, oxygen, etc, as between an astronaut walking in space and his or her spacecraft or a deep-sea diver and his or her craft
'umbilical cord' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "umbilical cord" in the title:


Look up "umbilical cord" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "umbilical cord" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!