Dictionary.com
definitions

gamete

[gam-eet, guh-meet]
|
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

seed, egg, spore, oosphere

Nearby words

  1. gamesomely,
  2. gamester,
  3. gamet-,
  4. gametal,
  5. gametangium,
  6. gamete intrafallopian transfer,
  7. gametic,
  8. gameto-,
  9. gametocide,
  10. gametocyte

Origin of gamete

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

British Dictionary definitions for gamete

gamete

noun

a haploid germ cell, such as a spermatozoon or ovum, that fuses with another germ cell during fertilization
Derived Formsgametal 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
Word Origin and History for gamete

gamete

n.

"sexual protoplasmic body," 1880, coined 1878 by German cytologist Eduard Strasburger (1844-1912), the widespread attribution to Mendel being apparently erroneous; from Greek gamete "a wife," gametes "a husband," from gamein "to take to wife, to marry," from PIE root *gem(e)- "to marry" (cf. Greek gambros "son-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law;" Sanskrit jamih "brother, sister," jama daughter-in-law;" Avestan zama-tar "son-in-law;" Latin gener "son-in-law"). Cf. also -gamy. The seventh month of the ancient Attic calendar (corresponding to late January and early February) was Gamelion, "Month of Marriages."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for gamete

gamete

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.