oocyte

American

[oh-uh-sahyt] / ˈoʊ əˌsaɪt /

noun

Cell Biology.

an immature egg cell of the animal ovary; in humans, one oocyte matures during the menstrual cycle, becoming an ootid and then an ovum, while several others partially mature and then disintegrate.

oocyte British

/ ˈəʊəˌsaɪt /

noun

an immature female germ cell that gives rise to an ovum after two meiotic divisions

"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

oocyte Scientific

/ ō′ə-sīt′ /

A diploid cell that undergoes meiosis to form eggs.

Etymology

Origin of oocyte

First recorded in 1890–95; oo- + -cyte

Compare meaning

How does oocyte compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

oocyte vs. ovum

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fertility declines with age, and poor oocyte quality is the major cause of female infertility.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2024

"This specific layer behaves like a stretchy solid -- it changes its shape along with the oocyte during fertilization," Caballero-Mancebo explains.

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024

In the ovary, the manipulated cell developed into an egg cell, or oocyte.

From Scientific American • Mar. 15, 2023

Exposure of ovarian follicles to high levels of FSH and LH causes the follicle to rupture, releasing an oocyte to the oviduct.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This results in the production of a secondary oocyte and one polar body.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023