haploid

American  

[hap-loid] / ˈhæp lɔɪd /

adjective

1. single; simple.

2. Biology. pertaining to a single set of chromosomes.

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noun

1. Biology. an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes, ordinarily half the normal diploid number.

haploid British  

/ ˈhæplɔɪd /

adjective

1. (esp of gametes) having a single set of unpaired chromosomes

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noun

1. a haploid cell or organism

haploid Scientific  

/ hăp′loid′ /

1. Having a single set of each chromosome in a cell or cell nucleus. In most animals, only the gametes (reproductive cells) are haploid.

2. Compare aneuploid diploid See Note at mitosis

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Other Word Forms

• haploidy noun

Etymology

Origin of haploid

First recorded in 1905–10; hapl- ( def. ) + -oid

Example Sentences

Genomic sequencing also revealed that D. catalonica has a haploid chromosome number of four autosomes plus one X chromosome, while D. tilosensis has six autosomes and one X chromosome.

From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025

In bees, males are typically haploid and have only one set of chromosomes, but when they're inbred, they can have two sets of the same chromosomes and lack genetic diversity.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2024

In this case, the ants have haploid cells from two divergent lineages: R and W. Humans, for example, have X and Y haploid cells.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2023

A variety of algal life cycles exists, but the most complex is alternation of generations, in which both haploid and diploid stages involve multicellularity.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The haploid generation suffered a proportional reduction, until it finally ceased to have an independent existence and became restricted to the role of producing the sexual products within the body of the diploid generation.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)