gamete

noun gam·ete \ ˈga-ˌmēt also gə-ˈmēt \

Definition of gamete

:a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploid chromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex

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gametic

play \gə-ˈme-tik, -ˈmē-\ adjective

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gametically

play \gə-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē, -ˈmē-\ adverb

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Recent Examples of gamete from the Web

The corals in natural conditions spawned as predicted and expressed many genes only during or just before releasing their gametes.

— ferris jabr, Smithsonian, "How Moonlight Sets Nature’s Rhythms," 22 June 2017
There, drenched in moonlight, gametes from different colonies began to fuse and form free-swimming larvae, which would eventually settle on the seafloor, bud, and construct new coral citadels—a process now more vital than ever.

— ferris jabr, Smithsonian, "How Moonlight Sets Nature’s Rhythms," 22 June 2017
The chalk bass, however, is capable of producing both male and female gametes (sperm or eggs) simultaneously.

— mary k. hart, National Geographic, "These Fish Swap Their Sex Up to 20 Times a Day," 6 July 2016
A brain coral at Flower Garden Banks released its gametes within two minutes of its reproductive frenzy the previous year.

— william j. broad, New York Times, "In Secrets of Coral Spawning, Hope for Endangered Reefs," 20 June 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gamete.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gamete

borrowed from German Gamet, borrowed from Greek gamétēs "husband" or gametḗ "wife," from game-, stem of gameîn "to marry" + -tēs, -tē, agent suffixes — more at -gamous

Note: Gamet was introduced by the Polish-German biologist Eduard Strasburger (1844-1912) in an article cowritten with the botanist Anton de Bary, "Acetabularia mediterranea" (Botanische Zeitung, 35. Jahrgang, No. 47, 23. November 1877), pp. 745-56.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1878

See Words from the same year

Other Cell Biology Terms

cytology, vacuole, zygote

GAMETE Defined for English Language Learners

gamete

noun

Definition of gamete for English Language Learners

: one of the cells that join together to begin making a person or other creature

Medical Dictionary

gamete

noun ga·mete \ ˈgam-ˌēt also gə-ˈmēt \

medical Definition of gamete

:a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploid chromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex — called also sex cell

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