CHROMOSOME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chromosome mean? 

• CHROMOSOME (noun)
  The noun CHROMOSOME has 1 sense:

1. a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order

  Familiarity information: CHROMOSOME used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHROMOSOME (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Context example:

humans have 22 chromosome pairs plus two sex chromosomes

Hypernyms ("chromosome" is a kind of...):

body (an individual 3-dimensional object that has mass and that is distinguishable from other objects)

Meronyms (parts of "chromosome"):

nucleolar organiser; nucleolar organizer; nucleolus organiser; nucleolus organizer (the particular part of a chromosome that is associated with a nucleolus after nuclear division)

chromatin; chromatin granule (the readily stainable substance of a cell nucleus consisting of DNA and RNA and various proteins; during mitotic division it condenses into chromosomes)

cistron; factor; gene ((genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity)

chromatid (one of two identical strands into which a chromosome splits during mitosis)

centromere; kinetochore (a specialized condensed region of each chromosome that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape)

telomere (either (free) end of a eukaryotic chromosome)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chromosome"):

sex chromosome ((genetics) a chromosome that determines the sex of an individual)

autosome; somatic chromosome (any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome; appear in pairs in body cells but as single chromosomes in spermatozoa)

acentric chromosome (a chromosome lacking a centromere)

acrocentric chromosome (a chromosome with the centromere near one end so that one chromosomal arm is short and one is long)

metacentric chromosome (a chromosome having two equal arms because the centromere is in median position)

telocentric chromosome (a chromosome like a straight rod with the centromere in terminal position)

Holonyms ("chromosome" is a part of...):

cell nucleus; karyon; nucleus (a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction)

Derivation:

chromosomal (of or relating to a chromosome)

 Context examples 

The failure of the chromosomes to disjoin and move to opposite poles, may affect as many as 25% of all ova and 2% of all sperm.

(Meiotic Nondisjunction, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes serine/threonine-protein kinase 12, plays a role in chromosome segregation modulation during cellular mitosis and meiosis.

(AURKB wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

It may be associated with loss of chromosome 22.

(Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

The plane of the spindle approximately equidistant from the two poles along which the chromosomes are lined up during mitosis or meiosis.

(Metaphase Plate, NCI Thesaurus)

Analysis of chromosomes arrested during metaphase.

(Metaphase Spread, NCI Thesaurus)

The second phase of mitosis, in which the chromosomes line up across the equatorial plane of the spindle prior to separation.

(Metaphase Process, NCI Thesaurus)

The neoplastic cells do not have a Philadelphia chromosome or the BCR/ABL fusion gene.

(Atypical Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Negative, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)

Mutations of specific alleles on the long arm of chromosome 5 have been associated with higher levels of IL-4 and IgE and are known as IL-4 promoter polymorphisms.

(Atopy, NCI Thesaurus)

Insomnia was linked to the occurrence of specific variants on chromosome 7.

(Can't Sleep? Could Be Down to Genetics, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The chromosomal constitution of cells which deviate from the normal by the addition or subtraction of chromosomes or chromosome pairs.

(Aneuploidy, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)