GAMETE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gamete mean? 

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

1. a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• GAMETE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

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

germ cell; reproductive cell; sex cell (a spermatozoon or an ovum; a cell responsible for transmitting DNA to the next generation)

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

anisogamete (either of a pair of unlike gametes especially those unlike in size)

isogamete (either of a pair of conjugating gametes of the same size and structure)

sperm; sperm cell; spermatozoan; spermatozoon (the male reproductive cell; the male gamete)

egg cell; ovum (the female reproductive cell; the female gamete)

spermatid (an immature gamete produced by a spermatocyte; develops into a spermatozoon)

oosphere (a gamete; used especially of lower plants)

antherozoid; spermatozoid (a motile male gamete of a plant such as an alga or fern or gymnosperm)

 Context examples 

Any component of the male organs and tissues involved in the production and maturation of gametes and in their union and subsequent development as offspring.

(Male Reproductive System Part, NCI Thesaurus)

Half of these abnormal gametes are nullisomy, half are disomy.

(Meiotic Nondisjunction, NCI Thesaurus)

Any type of homology-dependent DNA strand exchange occuring during gametogenesis and involving synapsis of parental homologs, strand breakage and exchange of segments to yield unique combinations of genes in the gamete.

(Meiotic Recombination, NCI Thesaurus)

The female gamete, germ cells in stages between the prophase of the first maturation division and the completion of the second maturation division.

(Oocyte, NCI Thesaurus)

Any mutation that appears in the gametes and which will therefore be transmitted to the progeny with some frequency.

(Germline mutation, NCI Thesaurus)

This sterile inflammatory process is toxic to gametes, primarily spermatozoa, and effectively prevents viable sperm from passing into the fallopian tubes.

(Intrauterine device, NCI Thesaurus)

Any component of the female organs and tissues involved in the production and maturation of gametes and in their union and subsequent development as offspring.

(Female Reproductive System Part, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein is involved in the modulation of hormone binding and signaling and the mediation of both gonad development and gamete differentiation.

(Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor, NCI Thesaurus)

The joining of the male gamete (sperm) and the female gamete (egg).

(Fertilization, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The type of cell division a diploid germ cell undergoes to produce gametes (sperm or eggs) that will carry half the normal chromosome number.

(Meiosis, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)