cross-fertilization

[ kraws-fur-tl-uh-zey-shuhn, kros- ]

noun
  1. Biology. the fertilization of an organism by the fusion of an egg from one individual with a sperm or male gamete from a different individual.

  2. Botany. fertilization of the flower of one plant by a gamete from the flower of a closely related plant (opposed to self-fertilization).

  1. (not in technical use) cross-pollination.

  2. interaction or interchange, as between two or more cultures, fields of activity or knowledge, or the like, that is mutually beneficial and productive: a cross-fertilization of scientific and technical disciplines.

Origin of cross-fertilization

1
First recorded in 1875–80

Words Nearby cross-fertilization

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cross-fertilization in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cross-fertilization

cross-fertilization

noun
  1. fertilization by the fusion of male and female gametes from different individuals of the same species: Compare self-fertilization

Derived forms of cross-fertilization

  • cross-fertile, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cross-fertilization

cross-fertilization

  1. The fertilization that occurs when the nucleus of a male sex cell from one individual joins with the nucleus of a female sex cell from another individual. In plants, cross-pollination is an example of cross-fertilization. Also called allogamy Compare self-fertilization.

Other words from cross-fertilization

  • cross-fertilize verb

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for cross-fertilization

cross-fertilization

The fertilization of the ovum of one plant by the sperm of another plant.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.