metaphase
Americannoun
noun
-
The stage of cell division in which the duplicated chromosomes become aligned along the center of the cell, called the equatorial plate or metaphase plate. Metaphase lasts up to an hour, and ends in mitosis and the second division of meiosis when separation of the paired chromosomal strands (called chromatids) begins. In the first division of meiosis, the paired chromosomes separate from one another. Metaphase is preceded by prophase and followed by anaphase.
Etymology
Origin of metaphase
Explanation
The second stage of mitosis, or cell division, is known as metaphase. During metaphase, the cell's chromosomes line up along its center line. Metaphase com from Greek roots meaning "adjacent or between" and "stage." During this stage, chromosomes stop moving back and forth and are held in the middle of the cell by tube-shaped spirals of protein called microtubules. This prepares the cell for the next stage of mitosis, anaphase, moving it one step closer to dividing.
Vocabulary lists containing metaphase
Cell Biology - Middle School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Cell Biology - High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
For almost twenty years, textbooks described CENP-E as a motor that pulled chromosomes to the metaphase plate.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 10, 2025
The meiotic division is arrested in metaphase II. Fertilization triggers completion of the second meiotic division and the result is one ovum and an additional polar body.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Figure 6.4 Animal cell mitosis is divided into five stages—prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase—visualized here by light microscopy with fluorescence.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
During telophase, these Golgi vesicles move on microtubules to collect at the metaphase plate.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Figure 4 shows the 52 chromosomes of a spermatogonial division in metaphase.
From Studies in Spermatogenesis Part I by Stevens, Nettie Maria
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
