foetus

IPA/ˈfiːtəs/
IPA/ˈfiːtəs/

foetus — noun

  • foetussingular
  • foetusesplural

1. an unborn human or animal at the stage when the main organs and body parts have

1.名詞B2
釋義

an unborn human or animal at the stage when the main organs and body parts have already taken shape

例句

Anya saw the foetus on the ultrasound screen at twenty weeks.

collocation: see the foetus on an ultrasound

The vet told Diego that the foetus inside his dog was healthy.

同義詞
  • embryo

    an embryo is at an earlier stage of development, before the main organs have formed

  • unborn baby

    less clinical; used only for humans in everyday speech

用法筆記

This is the standard spelling in British and Commonwealth English. The American English spelling is 'fetus' (without the 'o'). Both spellings refer to the same thing.

常見錯誤

❌At four weeks, the foetus is the size of a poppy seed.
✅At four weeks, the embryo is the size of a poppy seed.
💡before about eight weeks in humans, the developing young is called an embryo, not a foetus.
❌The foetus was born healthy at full term.
✅The baby was born healthy at full term.
💡a foetus is an unborn young; once born, it is called a baby (human) or newborn (animal).