1an oval or round object laid by a female bird, reptile, fish, or invertebrate, usually containing a developing embryo. The eggs of birds are enclosed in a chalky shell, while those of reptiles are in a leathery membrane.
an infertile bird’s egg, especially one from a chicken, used for food:scrambled eggs [mass noun]:egg and bacon [as modifier]:an egg sandwich
a thing resembling a bird’s egg in shape:chocolate eggs
2 Biology the female reproductive cell in animals and plants; an ovum.
3 Architecture a decorative oval moulding, used alternately with triangular shapes: [as modifier]:egg and dart moulding
4 [with adjective] informal, dated a person of a specified kind:the biography portrays him as a thoroughly bad egg
don't put all your eggs in one basket
proverb don’t risk everything on the success of one venture:we need to be more tactical and not put all our eggs in one political basket
go suck an egg
[as imperative]North American informal used as an expression of anger or scorn.
kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
destroy a reliable and valuable source of income:high taxes kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
[with allusion to one of Aesop's fables]
lay an egg
North American informal be completely unsuccessful.
with egg on one's face
informal appearing foolish or ridiculous:don’t underestimate this team, or you’ll be left with egg on your face
