spore

¹

[ spawr, spohr ]

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.

-spore

²

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

   teliospore.

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

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.
2. See more at alternation of generations
3. 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.
4. See endospore

spore

1. 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.

Other Words From

• sporal adjective
• sporoid adjective
• inter·sporal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spore¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spore¹

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

Example Sentences

Anthrax, or Bacillus anthracis, is spore-forming bacteria found in soil that most commonly affects cattle.

From The Daily Beast

The CDC says that about 60 percent of the people who inhale the spore do not contract valley fever.

From The Daily Beast

Spore, another spinoff, taught players about the randomly branching paths evolution can take.

From The Daily Beast

Budding (as in yeast) and spore formation are familiar to us in plants.

From Project Gutenberg

At length a hard coat forms around this cell, which has now become a spore.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus the spore of the sun—the whispering spheres—found a set of conditions fitted for growth.

From Project Gutenberg

This destroys the resisting power of the spore membrane and allows the stain to reach the interior.

From Project Gutenberg

This dissolves out any fat or crystals that might otherwise retain the "spore" stain.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• berry
• corn
• egg
• grain
• nut

Words That Use -Spore

What does -spore mean?

The combining form -spore is used like a suffix meaning “spore.”  It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form -spore ultimately comes from the Greek sporá, meaning “sowing” and “seed.” Sporadic, meaning “occasional,” comes from the related Greek adjective sporadikós. Find out what sporadic has to do with seeds at our entry.

What are variants of –spore?

When used at the beginning of a word, as a prefix, -spore becomes spor-, spori-, or sporo-, as in sporocyst. A variant suffix used to create adjectives from nouns is –sporous, as in acrosporous, from acrospore.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for spor-, spori-, sporo-, and -sporous.

Examples of -spore

One example of a term from biology that features the combining form -spore is microspore, “the smaller of the two kinds of spores characteristically produced by seed plants and some fern allies.” It can also refer to “a pollen grain.”

The micro- portion of the word may look familiar; it means “small,” from Greek mīkrós. As we have seen, -spore means “spore” or “seed.” Microspore literally translates to “small spore” or “small seed.”

What are some words that use the combining form –spore?

• carpospore
• chlamydospore
• megaspore
• urediospore
• tetraspore
• zygospore

What are some other forms that -spore may be commonly confused with?

• -phore
• -sphere
• -sporous
• -ster

Break it down!

The combining form mega- means “large.” With this in mind, what is a megaspore?