zygote

American  

[zahy-goht, zig-oht] / ˈzaɪ goʊt, ˈzɪg oʊt /

noun

Biology.

• zygotes
  plural

1. the cell produced by the union of two gametes, before it undergoes cleavage.

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zygote British  

/ ˈzɪɡ-, zɪ-, ˈzaɪɡəʊt, zaɪˈɡɒtɪk /

noun

1. the cell resulting from the union of an ovum and a spermatozoon

2. the organism that develops from such a cell

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zygote Scientific  

/ zī′gōt′ /

1. The cell formed by the union of the nuclei of two reproductive cells (gametes), especially a fertilized egg cell.

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zygote Cultural  

1. The single cell that results from fertilization of an ovum by a sperm. After dividing several times, it implants in the uterus. It continues to divide, producing more cells and passing through the stages of embryo and fetus.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• zygotic
  adjective
• zygotically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• zygotes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of zygote

1885–90; < Greek zygōtós yoked, equivalent to zygō-, variant stem of zygoûn to yoke, join together (derivative of zygón yoke ¹ ) + -tos adj. suffix

Compare meaning

How does zygote compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gamete vs. zygote

Explanation

A zygote is a fertilized egg. The sperm cell (spermatozoon) and the egg (ovum) each have only half the genes of the parent cell — they're haploid cells. When the spermatozoon fertilizes the ovum, the resulting cell has the full complement of genes, so it's a diploid cell. The diploid cell then divides rapidly, becoming first an embryo, then a fetus. The word zygote comes from the Greek word for yoke — joining two things together, like hitching two oxen together to pull a plow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zygote zygotes

Orbiting the fish is a constellation of things and signs: flora, flags, stars, vases, moons, arrows, a human‑headed flower, a zygote and a Christian cross.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Hell, social media as we know it was a zygote.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2025

Since Rachel and Alvy only ever feel like constructs, not characters, it’s predictable that their attitudes would reverse once their zygote is encased in egg-shaped plastic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023

This is strikingly apparent in the development of a new organism—a human being, say—from a single fertilized egg, or zygote.

From Scientific American ● May 31, 2023

The zygote or sporont is at first capable of movement and known as an ookinete.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

“For these and other reasons, the whole notion of simply recovering ancient DNA and plugging it into living cells to generate zygotes is profoundly impractical,” he said.

From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2018

The selected zygotes then mature into embryos, from which embryonic stem cells can be extracted and the process repeated.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2018

Still, she already has responsibilities to her three zygotes.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2018

Animals reproducing sexually begin life as zygotes, or fertilized eggs.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018

At present our only way of appreciating those differences is to observe the properties of the zygotes which they form.

From Mendelism Third Edition by Reginald Crundall Punnett