synapsis
Americannoun
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synapses
plural
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Also called syndesis. Cell Biology. the pairing of homologous chromosomes, one from each parent, during early meiosis.
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Physiology. synapse.
noun
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cytology the association in pairs of homologous chromosomes at the start of meiosis
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another word for synapse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of synapsis
1645–55; < New Latin < Greek sýnapsis “junction,” equivalent to synap- (stem of synáptein “to make contact,” equivalent to syn- syn- + (h)áptein “to touch”) + -sis -sis
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.
See Examples For:
This photocurrent mimics the responses transmitted by synapsis in the human brain, enabling the device to interpret and process biological information received from optical sensors.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2024
The tight pairing of the homologous chromosomes is called synapsis.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Scientists thought chiasmata were a variation on synapsis and could not understand how chromosomes could break and rejoin.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Misaligned or incomplete synapsis, or a dysfunction of the spindle apparatus that facilitates chromosome migration, can cause nondisjunction.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Possibly his experience with the bounty hunter Phil Resch had altered some minute synapsis in him, had closed one neurological switch and opened another.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Which means you have to find your emotional connection, and that’s likely going to generate from whatever synapses are firing up in the memory bank.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
The findings suggest that increasing dietary plasmalogens may help protect synapses from some forms of age-related deterioration.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
During development, microglia influence which synapses neurons retain and which ones are eliminated.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Earlier work by Dr. Polleux showed that human-specific copies of SRGAP2 increase the number of synapses, or connections, made by neurons while also causing those synapses to mature very slowly.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Trying to fill the gaps between her own synapses.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
