Definition

1. Noun:
   • A decorated hard-boiled egg: A chicken egg that has been hard-boiled and then colored or decorated, traditionally used to celebrate the Easter holiday.
   • An egg-shaped candy: A confection, often made of chocolate or sugar, molded into the shape of an egg and associated with Easter celebrations.
   • A hidden feature in media: A secret message, joke, feature, or image intentionally placed inside a video game, movie, software program, or other piece of media by its creators.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Traditional):
  • The children painted colorful designs on the Easter eggs.
  • She received a large chocolate Easter egg as a gift.
• Noun (Modern/Computing):
  • The video game is famous for containing an Easter egg that reveals the developers' names.
  • Finding that hidden cameo in the film felt like discovering an Easter egg.

Advanced Usage

• "To include an Easter egg": To secretly embed a feature for users to find.
  • The software developers decided to include an Easter egg as a tribute to their favorite movie.
• "Easter egg hunt": A game, especially for children, where decorated eggs or candy eggs are hidden for participants to find. (This is a common compound term related to the primary meaning).
  • The annual Easter egg hunt in the park is always a popular event.

Variants and Related Words

• Egg hunt (n): An event where eggs are hidden and sought. Often used interchangeably with "Easter egg hunt."
• Hidden feature (n): A general term for any concealed element in a product, similar to the modern computing sense of an Easter egg.

Synonyms

• Traditional: Decorated egg, Paschal egg.
• Modern: Hidden feature, secret, bonus content.

Related Phrases

• "To hunt for Easter eggs": To actively search for hidden secrets in media.
  • Fans love to hunt for Easter eggs in the director's films.

Related Idioms

• No direct idioms use "Easter egg" as a component. The term itself, in its modern sense, functions metaphorically, comparing a hidden surprise in media to a hidden egg in a traditional hunt.

Noun

1. a colored hard-boiled egg used to celebrate Easter
2. an egg-shaped candy used to celebrate Easter