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heterozygote

[het-er-uh-zahy-goht, -zig-oht]

noun

Genetics.
  1. a person, animal, or other organism with a pair of differing alleles, one dominant and one recessive, of a particular gene.



heterozygote

/ -ˈzɪɡəʊt, ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəʊt /

noun

  1. an animal or plant that is heterozygous; a hybrid Compare homozygote

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • heterozygosis noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heterozygote1

First recorded in 1900–05; hetero- + zygote
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This mechanism, termed a ‘heterozygote advantage’, can arise from the benefits of carrying different forms of a gene, as opposed to two of the same variant, or ‘alleles’.

Read more on Scientific American

In time, students discover that one is homozygous green and the other a yellow-blue heterozygote.

Read more on Science Magazine

A heterozygote in which dominance prevails can be identified with certainty by breeding to a known recessive and noting the kind of offspring produced.

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The heterozygote produced by crossing these forms is intermediate in size and appearance.

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An individual may be a homozygote with respect to one factor and a heterozygote with respect to another.

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heterozygosisheterozygous