Definition of "ovipositor" []

• A tubular structure, usually concealed but sometimes extending outside the abdomen, with which many female insects deposit eggs. (noun)
• A similar organ of certain fishes. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He says female cicadas use a sword-like organ, called an ovipositor, to slice into small tree branches and insert their eggs."
• "But they still retain the ovipositor, which is converted into a sting, and supplied with a poisonous liquid to eject afterwards into the wound."
• "The ovipositor, which is about four-tenths of an inch in length, is plunged obliquely and up to the hilt into the twig."