# embryo

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛmbɹi.əʊ/ · frequency rank #18,554

## Definitions
1. In the reproductive cycle, the stage after the fertilization of the egg that precedes the development into a fetus.
2. An organism in the earlier stages of development before it emerges from the egg, or before metamorphosis.
3. In a viviparous animal, the young animal's earliest stages in the mother's body.
4. In a human, usually the cell growth of the child within the mother's body, through the end of the seventh week of pregnancy.
5. A rudimentary plant contained in the seed.
6. The beginning; the first stage of anything.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin embryō, from Ancient Greek ἔμβρυον (émbruon, “fetus”), from ἐν (en, “in-”) + βρύω (brúō, “to grow, swell”).

## Easily confused with
- **emery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/embryo-vs-emery)
- **embargo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/embargo-vs-embryo)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ebmryo`, `embbryo`, `embroy`, `embrryo`, `embryyo`, `embyro`, `emmbryo`, `emrbyo`, `mebryo`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/embryo