The sex chromosome that is paired with an X-chromosome in males. Most of the genes on the X-chromosome determine physical attributes associated with males, such as the development of testes.
See more at sex chromosome See Note at sex
First recorded in 1920–25
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Based on the results, we can proceed with analysis of Y chromosome fragments for comparison with current descendants."
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
"While the direct evidence of physical advantage in transgender people is pretty strong, the evidence of advantage for those with DSD, even though they have a Y chromosome, is highly disputed."
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
The Y chromosome is especially vulnerable during cell division.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2026
Advances in genetic detection have revealed that Y chromosome loss is widespread in older men.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2026
The female-producing sperms will each contain a white X and the male-producing sperms will each contain an indifferent Y chromosome.
From A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Morgan, Thomas Hunt
We then compared the Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA, which track the male and female lines of descent, respectively.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
What Dr Mazanec was looking for was a match with the DNA from the Y-chromosome, which is passed through the male line, from son to son.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023
The swap didn’t banish the Y chromosome from the recipients, but it culled the chromosome from 49% to 81% of white blood cells—about the same percentage as in many humans with Y-chromosome loss.
From Science Magazine ● Jul. 13, 2022
Moore had been a keen hobbyist in traditional genealogy and in early consumer genomics, which had allowed the tracking of direct male lines through the Y-chromosome and of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2021
"The only thing that puzzles me," Kennon went on, "is how you managed to eliminate the Y-chromosome carriers within the sperm."
From The Lani People by Bone, Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin)
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.
