diploid

[ dip-loid ]

/ ˈdɪp lɔɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diploid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

double; twofold.

Biology. having two similar complements of chromosomes.

noun

Biology. an organism or cell having double the basic haploid number of chromosomes.

Crystallography. a solid belonging to the isometric system and having 24 trapezoidal planes.

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Nearby words

Origin of diploid

First recorded in 1905–10; dipl(o)- + -oid

Related formsdip·loi·dic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for diploid

In animals, as in plants, the diploid generation attained the higher development and gradually assumed the dominant position.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
Similarly all the higher animals appear to us as independent organisms with diploid nuclei only.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
Diploid (2n) chromosome numbers were determined from cells in late prophase and metaphase of mitosis.
Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca|William E. Duellman
Technically the tissue-cells are said to contain the diploid number of chromosomes, the gametes the reduced or haploid number.
Being Well-Born|Michael F. Guyer

They appear with this arrangement in all subsequent nuclear divisions in the diploid generation.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others

British Dictionary definitions for diploid

diploid

/ (ˈdɪplɔɪd) /

adjective

biology (of cells or organisms) having pairs of homologous chromosomes so that twice the haploid number is present

double or twofold

noun

biology a diploid cell or organism

Derived Formsdiploidic, adjectivediploidy, noun

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

Word Origin and History for diploid

diploid

adj.

1908, from Greek diploos "double, twofold," (from di- "two" + root *pel- "to fold;" see ply (v.)) + eidos "form" (see -oid).

Medicine definitions for diploid

diploid

[ dĭp′loid′ ]

adj.

Having two sets of chromosomes or double the haploid number of chromosomes in the germ cell, with one member of each chromosome pair derived from the ovum and one from the spermatazoon. The diploid number, 46 in humans, is the normal chromosome complement of an organism's somatic cells.

n.

A diploid organism or cell.

Science definitions for diploid

diploid

[ dĭp′loid′ ]

Having paired sets of chromosomes in a cell or cell nucleus. In diploid organisms that reproduce sexually, one set of chromosomes is inherited from each parent. The somatic cells of most animals are diploid. Compare haploid. See Note at mitosis.