gamete

1 of 2

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

gametic

2 of 2

adjective

ga·​met·​ic gəˈmetik 

ˈgaˌm-

: of, relating to, being, or derived from a gamete

gametically

-tə̇k(ə)lē 

-li

adverb

Examples of gamete in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In Darwin’s day, of course, the processes by which gametes are formed and then fused had yet to be discovered. — Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Hormones take the child’s body at puberty and conjure from it the adult form, directing the ovaries to mature their eggs or the testicles to produce sperm, each of these gametes containing the potential to create new life. — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026

Climate change may be slowing rather than accelerating species turnover, as well as encouraging male frogs’ calls to reach peak intensity earlier and causing Mediterranean gorgonians to prematurely release their gametes. — Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026

This process begins with the day’s first light, when photoreceptive proteins called opsins in the gonads detect sunlight, triggering production of a hormone that matures developing gametes. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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.

Adjective

gamet- + -ic

First Known Use

Noun

1878, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1883, 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