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oval

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

A thing having such a shape, such as an arena.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ohvuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈoʊvəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A thing having such a shape, such as an arena.

  2. An elongated round shape resembling an egg or ellipse.

  3. Australia

    A sports field, typically but not exclusively oval in shape.

adjective

  1. Of or pertaining to an ovum.

  2. Having the shape of an oval.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A thing having such a shape, such as an arena.

Used this way, oval is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

oval faceoval shapelarge ovalsmall ovaloval formlong ovaloval tabletwo oval

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • oval officenounCompound term

    The office of the President of the United States in the White House.

  • oval windownounCompound term

    Fenestra that has the base of the stapes attached to it.

  • oval kumquatnounCompound term

    Shrub bearing oval-fruited kumquats.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: of or pertaining to an ovum

ellipticalellipticTechnicalovoid

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.