gamete

noun

gam·​ete ˈga-ˌmēt 

also

gə-ˈmēt 

: 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

gametic

gə-ˈme-tik  -ˈmē- 

adjective

gametically

gə-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈmē-

adverb

Examples of gamete in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Another concern is how the gametes, or the reproductive cells, might be affected by conditions beyond Earth. —Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026

Females produce large gametes and our bodies are organized around gestation and birth; males have small gametes and their bodies are organized around impregnating. —Paisley Currah, The New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2025

Nonetheless, the study marks an important step in demonstrating that reprogramming adult human cells into fertilizable gametes is technically possible. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

Among the organization’s platforms are calls for a national retroactive ban on anonymous gamete donation. —Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gamete

• gamete intrafallopian transfer

Kids Definition

gamete

noun

ga·​mete

gə-ˈmēt, 

ˈgam-ˌēt

: a mature sex cell that usually has half of the normal number of chromosomes and is capable of uniting with a gamete of the opposite sex to begin the formation of a new individual

gametic

gə-ˈmet-ik

adjective

gametically

-ˈmet-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Medical Definition

gamete

noun

ga·​mete

ˈgam-ˌēt also gə-ˈmēt

: 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

gametic

gə-ˈmet-ik  -ˈmēt- 

adjective

gametically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb