binary fission

American  

noun

Biology.

1. fission into two organisms approximately equal in size.

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binary fission British  

noun

1. asexual reproduction in unicellular organisms by division into two daughter cells

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Etymology

Origin of binary fission

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Genes for antibiotic resistance are transferred from the nonpathogenic bacterium to a pathogenic bacterium via binary fission.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This type of cell division is called binary fission.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Cycles of binary fission can be very rapid, on the order of minutes for some species.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Prokaryotes such as bacteria propagate by binary fission.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

This organism is remarkable in one or two ways: it possesses a contractile vacuole; the amoeboid trophozoites tend to form plasmodia; and the spores, of the usual simple type, may apparently divide by binary fission.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various