heterozygous

[ het-er-uh-zahy-guhs ]

/ ˌhɛt ər əˈzaɪ gəs /

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adjective Biology.

having dissimilar pairs of genes for any hereditary characteristic.

of or relating to a heterozygote.

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Also het·er·o·zy·got·ic

[het-uh-roh-zahy-got-ik]. /ˌhɛt ə roʊ zaɪˈgɒt ɪk/.

Origin of heterozygous

1900–05; hetero- + Greek zygós, adj. derivative of zygón yolk; see -ous

OTHER WORDS FROM heterozygous

het·er·o·zy·gos·i·ty

[het-uh-roh-zahy-gos-i-tee], /ˌhɛt ə roʊ zaɪˈgɒs ɪ ti/, noun

Words nearby heterozygous

heteroxenous, heteroxenous parasite, heterozygosis, heterozygosity, heterozygote, heterozygous, heth, He that is not with me is against me, hetman, hetmanate, hettie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use heterozygous in a sentence

This would indicate that the frog belongs to those animals in which the male is heterozygous for sex.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
Being heterozygous for two factors they will produce four kinds of gametes in equal numbers, viz.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
Such birds being heterozygous for the inhibitor factor, should be whites showing some coloured "ticks."
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
The cross between a heterozygous dominant and a recessive also leads to equal numbers of recessives and of heterozygous dominants.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett

There exists repulsion between the factors G and F in a zygote which is heterozygous for them both.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett

British Dictionary definitions for heterozygous

heterozygous

/ (ˌhɛtərəʊˈzaɪɡəs) /

adjective

genetics (of an organism) having different alleles for any one geneheterozygous for eye colour Compare homozygous

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

Medical definitions for heterozygous

heterozygous

[ hĕt′ər-ə-zī′gəs ]

adj.

Having different alleles at one or more corresponding chromosomal loci.

Of or relating to a heterozygote.

Scientific definitions for heterozygous

heterozygous

[ hĕt′ər-ə-zī′gəs ]

Relating to a cell that has two different alleles at corresponding positions on homologous chromosomes. Compare homozygous.