chromosomes

Cultural  

1. The small bodies in the nucleus of a cell that carry the chemical “instructions” for reproduction of the cell. They consist of strands of DNA wrapped in a double helix around a core of proteins. Each species of plant or animal has a characteristic number of chromosomes. For human beings, for example, it is forty-six.

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In humans, sex is determined by two chromosomes: an X-chromosome, which is female, and a Y-chromosome, which is male. (See sex chromosomes.)

Example Sentences

Two-time Olympic women's 800m champion Caster Semenya's DSD means she has male XY chromosomes.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Even men who lack Y chromosomes still have a copy of the SRY region on one of their X chromosomes, which accounts for their maleness.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

These regions of DNA ensure that chromosomes are properly separated when cells divide.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Therefore, if Neanderthal males and modern human females were mating more frequently, more human X chromosomes would enter the Neanderthal gene pool -- and fewer Neanderthal X chromosomes would end up in human populations.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Units of hereditary information, encoded in DNA and packaged on chromosomes, are transmitted through sperm and egg into an embryo, and from the embryo to every living cell in an organism’s body.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee