gamete

[ gam-eet, guh-meet ]

/ ˈgæm it, gəˈmit /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gamete ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Biology.

a mature sexual reproductive cell, as a sperm or egg, that unites with another cell to form a new organism.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

gamesmanship, gamesome, gamester, gamet-, gametangium, gamete, gamete intrafallopian transfer, gameto-, gametocide, gametocyte, gametogenesis

Origin of gamete

1885–90; < New Latin gameta < Greek gamet- (stem of gametḗ wife, gamétēs husband), derivative of gameîn to marry

Related forms

ga·met·ic

[guh-met-ik] /gəˈmɛt ɪk/, ga·me·tal

[guh-meet-l] /gəˈmit l/, adjectivega·met·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for gamete

What is the relation between gamete and zygote, between zygote and gamete?
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
But the problem of the way in which characters are distributed from gamete to zygote and from zygote to gamete remained as before.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
It is obvious that the chances of R being distributed to a gamete with or without P are equal.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
The two were mutually exclusive so far as the gamete was concerned.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett

For on hypothesis every gamete must be pure for one or other of these two characters.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett

British Dictionary definitions for gamete

gamete

/ (ˈɡæmiːt, ɡəˈmiːt) /

noun

a haploid germ cell, such as a spermatozoon or ovum, that fuses with another germ cell during fertilization

Derived Forms

gametal or gametic (ɡəˈmɛtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for gamete

C19: from New Latin, from Greek gametē wife, from gamos marriage

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

Medicine definitions for gamete

gamete

[ găm′ēt′, gə-mēt′ ]

n.

A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce a fertilized egg.

Science definitions for gamete

gamete

[ găm′ēt′ ]

A cell whose nucleus unites with that of another cell to form a new organism. A gamete contains only a single (haploid) set of chromosomes. Animal egg and sperm cells, the nuclei carried in grains of pollen, and egg cells in plant ovules are all gametes. Also called germ cell reproductive cell, sex cell See Note at mitosis.

Culture definitions for gamete

gamete

A reproductive cell having a single set of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg.