variants
or less commonly yoke
1
a
: the yellow spheroidal mass of stored food that forms the inner portion of the egg of a bird or reptile and is surrounded by the white see egg illustration
b
archaic
: the whole contents of an animal ovum consisting of a protoplasmic formative portion and an inert nutritive portion
c
: material stored in an animal ovum that supplies food to the developing embryo and consists chiefly of proteins, lecithin, and cholesterol
2
[akin to Middle Dutch ieke yolk (of wool), Old English ēowu ewe]
: oily material in unprocessed sheep wool consisting of wool fat, suint, and debris
Examples of yolk in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Say goodbye to guesswork and overcooked yolks with this heat-sensitive egg timer.
—
Nora Colomer
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
First, the group purchased grocery store chicken eggs and sorted their parts into eggshells, eggshell membranes, and the whites and yolks.
—Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2025
Add eggs, egg yolks, orange blossom water, orange zest and the foamy yeast sponge.
—Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Reduce the heat to medium and fry until the edges are frizzled, the whites are set and the yolk is cooked to your liking.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yolk
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Nora Colomer
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
First, the group purchased grocery store chicken eggs and sorted their parts into eggshells, eggshell membranes, and the whites and yolks.
—Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2025
Add eggs, egg yolks, orange blossom water, orange zest and the foamy yeast sponge.
—Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Reduce the heat to medium and fry until the edges are frizzled, the whites are set and the yolk is cooked to your liking.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yolk
Cite this Entry
“Yolk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yolk. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
yolk
noun
ˈyōk 
ˈyelk,
also ˈyōlk
1
: the yellow inner mass of stored food in the egg of a bird or reptile
2
: the material stored in an animal ovum that supplies food material to the developing embryo
Medical Definition
yolk
noun
: material stored in an ovum that supplies food to the developing embryo and consists chiefly of proteins, lecithin, and cholesterol
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