sex chromosome
Americannoun
noun
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Either of a pair of chromosomes, usually called X and Y, that in combination determine the sex of an individual in many animals and in some plants. In mammals, XX results in a female and XY in a male, while the opposite is true in birds (where the designations ZW for female and ZZ for male are often used). Sex chromosomes carry the genes that control the development of reproductive organs and secondary sex characteristics. In some organisms, sex is determined by environmental influences.
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See also X-chromosome Y-chromosome
Etymology
Origin of sex chromosome
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
The team found some species with minor changes, mainly involving fusions of small autosomes5 and the sex chromosome.
From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024
In a paper published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that female zebra longwings can see colors that males cannot, thanks to a gene on their sex chromosome.
From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2023
“We’ve had cell lines from males and females before, but the fact that they’re coming from same person with just the same sex chromosome difference—it’s a big step.”
From Scientific American • Dec. 21, 2022
Scientists can sort sperm by the weight of the sex chromosome, or cause embryos of one sex to die before birth.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 2, 2021
Selective fertilization with different kinds of sperm was impossible, since in these birds there is only one type of sperm—two of eggs—as to the sex chromosome.
From Taboo and Genetics A Study of the Biological, Sociological and Psychological Foundation of the Family by Knight, Melvin Moses
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
