spore

[ spawr, spohr ]
See synonyms for spore on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Biology. a walled, single- to many-celled, reproductive body of an organism, capable of giving rise to a new individual either directly or indirectly.

  2. a germ, germ cell, seed, or the like.

verb (used without object),spored, spor·ing.
  1. to bear or produce spores.

Origin of spore

1
1830–40; <New Latin spora<Greek sporá sowing, seed, akin to speírein to sow; see sperm1

Other words from spore

  • sporal, adjective
  • sporoid, adjective
  • in·ter·spor·al, adjective

Words Nearby spore

Other definitions for -spore (2 of 2)

-spore

  1. variant of sporo-, as final element of compound words: teliospore.

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

How to use spore in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spore

spore

/ (spɔː) /


noun
  1. a reproductive body, produced by bacteria, fungi, various plants, and some protozoans, that develops into a new individual. A sexual spore is formed after the fusion of gametes and an asexual spore is the result of asexual reproduction

  2. a germ cell, seed, dormant bacterium, or similar body

verb
  1. (intr) to produce, carry, or release spores

Origin of spore

1
C19: from New Latin spora, from Greek: a sowing; related to Greek speirein to sow

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 spore

spore

[ spôr ]


  1. A usually one-celled reproductive body that can grow into a new organism without uniting with another cell. Spores are haploid (having only a single set of chromosomes). Fungi, algae, seedless plants, and certain protozoans reproduce asexually by spores. Plant spores that are dispersed by the wind have walls containing sporopollenin.

  1. A similar one-celled body in seed-bearing plants; the macrospore or microspore. The macrospore of seed-bearing plants develops into a female gametophyte or megagametophyte, which is contained within the ovule and eventually produces the egg cells. (The megagametophyte is also called the embryo sac in angiosperms.) The microspore of seed-bearing plants develops into the male microgametophyte or pollen grain. See endospore.

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

Cultural definitions for spore

spore

A reproductive cell or group of cells, produced by some plants, that is capable of developing into an adult plant without combining with another reproductive cell. Plants also produce sperm cells. The spores of nonflowering plants are analogous to the seeds of flowering plants. (See asexual reproduction; compare sexual reproduction.) Fungi and algae typically reproduce by means of spores that are carried by the wind or some other agency to a new location for growth.

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.