umbilical
/,ʌmbi'laikəl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
A newborn baby lies in a hospital bassinet with its umbilical cord still attached.
Definition
Adjective:
- Relating to or resembling the umbilicus (navel): Pertaining to the navel or the area around it.
- Of or relating to a central or vital connecting point: Used figuratively to describe something that serves as a central, essential, or life-sustaining link.
Noun:
- (In full: umbilical cord): The flexible cordlike structure containing blood vessels that connects a fetus to the placenta, providing nourishment and removing waste.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- The surgeon made an umbilical incision. (The surgeon made a cut related to the navel area.)
- The cable served as the umbilical link to the power source. (The cable was the vital, central connection to the power source.)
Noun (referring to the umbilical cord):
- The doctor clamped and cut the umbilical after the birth. (The doctor clamped and cut the umbilical cord after the birth.)
Advanced Usage
- "Umbilical point": In mathematics or geometry, a point on a surface where all normal curvatures are equal.
- The sphere is a surface where every point is an umbilical point.
- "Umbilical relationship": A figurative term describing a close, dependent, or nourishing connection, often to one's origins.
- The poet maintained an umbilical relationship with the landscapes of his childhood.
Variants and Related Words
- Umbilicus (n): The formal anatomical term for the navel.
- Umbilical cord (n): The specific anatomical structure connecting fetus and placenta.
- Umbilically (adv): In a manner relating to or resembling an umbilical connection (rare).
- The spacecraft was umbilically connected to the ground station.
Synonyms
- Adjective (anatomical): Navel-related.
- Adjective (figurative): Central, vital, connecting, life-giving.
Related Phrases
- "To cut the umbilical cord": Literally, to sever the physical cord after birth. Figuratively, to end a state of dependency.
- Moving out for college felt like finally cutting the umbilical cord.
- "Umbilical cable/hose": A tube or cable supplying essential fluids, power, or data, used in contexts like spacewalks or diving.
- The astronaut was secured by an umbilical tether.
A newborn baby lies in a hospital bassinet with its umbilical cord still attached.
Adjective
- relating to or resembling the umbilicus
- umbilical cord
Noun
- membranous duct connecting the fetus with the placenta