sex chromosomes
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As with other pairs of chromosomes, one of the sex chromosomes is contributed by each parent; they are of two types, X and Y. The mother supplies only an X-chromosome, but the father can transmit both the X- and the Y-chromosome. At fertilization, if the father's sperm is also carrying an X-chromosome, the child will be female. If the father's sperm is carrying a Y-chromosome, the child will be male.
Example Sentences
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Many characteristics go into determining someone’s sex: chromosomes, reproductive organs, hormonal balances, secondary sex characteristics like breast tissue and body-hair distribution.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
This is why the sex chromosomes, and the X chromosome in particular, can eliminate DNA from the other group more quickly.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
One possible explanation, known as the heterogametic sex hypothesis, links these differences to sex chromosomes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2025
In the brain, sexual differentiation starts before birth and results from a combination of sex chromosomes in brain tissue, sex hormones produced by the testes or ovaries and the environment.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2025
One, known only as Klinefelter’s syndrome, involves a duplication of one of the sex chromosomes.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
