oogamete

[ oh-uh-gam-eet, -guh-meet ]

/ oʊ əˈgæm it, -gəˈmit /

noun Cell Biology.

one of a pair of structurally dissimilar gametes, the female gamete being large and nonmotile and the male gamete being small and motile.

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Origin of oogamete

First recorded in 1890–95; oo- + gamete

OTHER WORDS FROM oogamete

o·og·a·mous

[oh-og-uh-muh s] /oʊˈɒg ə məs/, adjectiveo·og·a·my, noun

Words nearby oogamete

ooblast, oocyst, oocyte, oodles, oof, oogamete, oogamous, oogamy, oogenesis, oogonium, ooh

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for oogamy

oogamy

/ (əʊˈɒɡəmɪ) /

noun

sexual reproduction involving a small motile male gamete and a large much less motile female gamete: occurs in all higher animals and some plants

Derived forms of oogamy

oogamous, adjective

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 oogamy

oogamete

[ ō′ə-găm′ēt′, -gə-mēt′ ]

n.

A female gamete, especially the larger of two gametes produced by an oogamous species.

Scientific definitions for oogamy

oogamy

[ ō-ŏg′ə-mē ]

A system of sexual reproduction in which one gamete (called the egg) is large and nonmotile, while the other (called the sperm) is small and motile. Oogamy is a type of heterogamy. Compare isogamy.

Other words from oogamy

oogamous adjective