heterozygous

[ het-er-uh-zahy-guh s ]

/ ˌhɛt ər əˈzaɪ gəs /

adjective Biology.

having dissimilar pairs of genes for any hereditary characteristic.

of or relating to a heterozygote.

Nearby words

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

Related formshet·er·o·zy·gos·i·ty

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heterozygous

Similarly, heterozygous low nostril (table 47) should give, on our hypothesis, 50 per cent low nostril.
Inheritance of Characteristics in Domestic Fowl|Charles Benedict Davenport
There exists repulsion between the factors G and F in a zygote which is heterozygous for them both.
Mendelism|Reginald Crundall Punnett
The question of the heterozygous nature of the female sex, fully discussed by Goodale, will be considered by me in another place.
Inheritance of Characteristics in Domestic Fowl|Charles Benedict Davenport
This heterozygous bar female is always readily distinguishable from the normal, but can not always be separated from the pure bar.
Sex-linked Inheritance in Drosophila|Thomas Hunt Morgan

Goodale, 1909, has shown that in Plymouth Rocks males may be and females usually are heterozygous in barring.
Inheritance of Characteristics in Domestic Fowl|Charles Benedict Davenport

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

Word Origin and History for heterozygous