meiosis

noun

mei·o·sis | \ mī-ˈō-səs

Definition of meiosis

1 : the presentation of a thing with underemphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect : understatement

2 : the cellular process that results in the number of chromosomes in gamete-producing cells being reduced to one half and that involves a reduction division in which one of each pair of homologous chromosomes passes to each daughter cell and a mitotic division — compare mitosis

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Most animals have chromosomes made of two nearly identical copies of each gene, a consequence of the pairing and mixing that goes on during meiosis. — Quanta Magazine, "Ancient Survivors Could Redefine Sex," 19 Nov. 2014 Recombination is a process in which the maternal and paternal copies of chromosomes exchange blocks of DNA with each other during meiosis, the production of sperm and egg cells. — Quanta Magazine, "Theorists Debate How ‘Neutral’ Evolution Really Is," 8 Nov. 2018 The experiment did not work in males, likely because spermatogonia go through normal mitotic cell division before meiosis, stymying HDR. — Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "‘Gene drive’ passes first test in mammals, speeding up inheritance in mice," 10 July 2018 The chromosomes naturally swap DNA during meiosis, and during those exchanges the cell only allows HDR. — Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "‘Gene drive’ passes first test in mammals, speeding up inheritance in mice," 10 July 2018

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

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The first known use of meiosis was in 1550

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More Definitions for meiosis

meiosis

noun

mei·o·sis | \ mī-ˈō-səs

plural meioses\ -ˌsēz

Medical Definition of meiosis

: the cellular process that results in the number of chromosomes in gamete-producing cells being reduced to one half and that involves a reduction division in which one of each pair of homologous chromosomes passes to each daughter cell and a mitotic division — compare mitosis sense 1

Other Words from meiosis

meiotic \ mī-ˈät-ik

\ adjective

meiotically \ -i-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb