heterozygote

American  

[het-er-uh-zahy-goht, -zig-oht] / ˌhɛt ər əˈzaɪ goʊt, -ˈzɪg oʊt /

noun

Genetics.

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

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heterozygote British  

/ -ˈzɪɡəʊt, ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəʊt /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• heterozygosis noun

Etymology

Origin of heterozygote

First recorded in 1900–05; hetero- + zygote

Example Sentences

When one homologous chromosome undergoes an inversion but the other does not, the individual is described as an inversion heterozygote.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

However, the heterozygote phenotype occasionally does appear to be intermediate between the two parents.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Incomplete dominance describes situations in which the heterozygote exhibits a phenotype that is intermediate between the homozygous phenotypes.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

An inheritance pattern in which an allele is only lethal in the homozygous form and in which the heterozygote may be normal or have some altered non-lethal phenotype is referred to as recessive lethal.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

If the individual was really a heterozygote, approximately fifty per cent. of the offspring should be of the recessive type.

From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.