polyploid

American  

[pol-ee-ploid] / ˈpɒl iˌplɔɪd /

adjective

1. having a chromosome number that is more than double the basic or haploid number.

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noun

1. a polyploid cell or organism.

polyploid British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌplɔɪd /

adjective

1. (of cells, organisms, etc) having more than twice the basic (haploid) number of chromosomes

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noun

1. an individual or cell of this type

polyploid Scientific  

/ pŏl′ē-ploid′ /

1. Having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. Many plants that are polyploid, such as dandelions, are sterile but can reproduce by apomixis or other asexual means. Other polyploid plants are fertile. For example, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum durum), which is used to make pasta, is tetraploid (it has four sets of chromosomes), while bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes). Polyploid plants, if viable, are often larger or more productive than diploid plants, and plant breeders often deliberately produce such plants by crossing species or other means. In the animal kingdom, polyploidy is abnormal and often fatal.

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Other Word Forms

• polyploidy
  noun
• polyploidal
  adjective
• polyploidic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of polyploid

First recorded in 1915–20; poly- + -ploid

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

polyploid

These so-called polyploid genomes contain multiple sets of chromosomes inherited from different ancestral species.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026

The ETH researchers have observed that in newly formed polyploid plants, the pollen tube does not grow straight, nor is it sufficiently long.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

When she and Fox looked at the fly wound sites a few days later, they saw signs that these so-called polyploid cells, and not stem cells, were the major wound healers.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 23, 2023

Since then, the two scientists’ fascination with polyploid cells has only grown.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 23, 2023

We find numbers such as 32 representative of a polyploid situation.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 43rd Annual Meeting Rockport, Indiana, August 25, 26 and 27, 1952 by Northern Nut Growers Association

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