interfertile

American

[in-ter-fur-tl] / ˌɪn tərˈfɜr tl /

adjective

Botany, Zoology.

able to interbreed.

interfertile British

/ ˌɪntəˈfɜːtaɪl /

adjective

(of plants and animals) able to interbreed

"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

Other Word Forms

interfertility

noun

Etymology

Origin of interfertile

First recorded in 1915–20; inter- + fertile

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.

"These two species are interfertile, meaning that they can interbreed and produce viable offspring," the Center stated on its website.

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2023

Multiple interfertile tetraploid species have arisen from the ancestral tetraploid following hybridization, including C. berlandieri and C. hircinum, although the evolutionary relationships among quinoa and its diploid and tetraploid relatives remain unclear25.

From Nature • Feb. 7, 2017

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023