gametophyte

noun

ga·​me·​to·​phyte gə-ˈmē-tə-ˌfīt 

plural gametophytes

: the haploid, multicellular, sexual reproductive stage in plants and algae that develops from spores and that gives rise to the male and female gametes which unite during fertilization to form the zygote

Note: In plants, both the gametophyte and sporophyte stages are present on one plant, but one of the stages will be greatly reduced or only present seasonally.

Angiosperm plants produce flowers, very beautiful and intricate structures, within which their reproductive development takes place. … The flower contains specialized structures, the anthers and the pistil or gynoecium, in which the male and female gametophytes, respectively, are formed.

—Joseph P. Mascarenhas

Mosses exist in two distinct generations—the green, leafy gametophyte (the familiar green phase) and the wiry and leafless sporophyte …

—Drew Monkman

compare sporophyte

gametophytic

gə-ˌmē-tə-ˈfi-tik 

adjective

gametophytic phase of plant development

Examples of gametophyte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of those ways creates quite a bit of suffering for humans: pollen, the infamous male gametophyte of the plant kingdom. —Christine Cairns Fortuin, The Conversation, 5 May 2025

Nowellia curvifolia (leafy liverwort) gametophyte, berberine stained. —Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2014

Word History

Etymology

gameto- + -phyte (after sporophyte)

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gametophyte

• actinolite
• adipocyte
• amphibolite
• anorthosite
• anthophyllite
• aragonite
• carbonatite
• cassiterite
• cristobalite
• crocidolite
• diatomite
• dithionite

Kids Definition

gametophyte

noun

ga·​me·​to·​phyte gə-ˈmēt-ə-ˌfīt 

: the individual or generation of plants or fungi with alternating sexual and asexual generations that produces gametes compare sporophyte

gametophytic

-ˌmēt-ə-ˈfit-ik 

adjective

Medical Definition

gametophyte

noun

ga·​me·​to·​phyte gə-ˈmēt-ə-ˌfīt 

: the individual or generation of a plant exhibiting alternation of generations that bears sex organs compare sporophyte

gametophytic

-ˌmēt-ə-ˈfit-ik 

adjective