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
From the M-W Editors
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 ◆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.
GAMETE Defined for English Language Learners
gamete
playDefinition of gamete for English Language Learners
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: one of the cells that join together to begin making a person or other creature
Medical Dictionary
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
Learn More about gamete
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See words that rhyme with gamete Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gamete
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