mitosis

noun

mi·​to·​sis mī-ˈtō-səs 

plural mitoses mī-ˈtō-ˌsēz 

1

: a process that takes place in the nucleus of a dividing cell, involves typically a series of steps consisting of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, and results in the formation of two new nuclei each having the same number of chromosomes as the parent nucleus compare meiosis

2

: cell division in which mitosis occurs

Examples of mitosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Careful timing experiments showed that the longer cells spent trying to undergo mitosis, the more likely the daughter cells would be to stop dividing. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2024

Spending a lot of time in mitosis can mean that the chromosomes have picked up damage, which may cause problems in the future. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2024

Treating a cannabis plant with a natural chemical disrupts mitosis, leading to the creation of extra chromosomes without cell division. —Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024

Very soon after conception, your fertilized egg begins to divide into multiple cells, and those cells divide as well, a process called mitosis. —​wendy Wisner, Parents, 18 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Mitosis (later Mitose), from Greek mítos "length of thread, cord used to separate warp threads" (of uncertain origin) + -ōsis -osis

Note: Term coined by the German biologist Walther Flemming (1843-1905) in Zellsubstanz, Kern und Zelltheilung (Leipzig, 1882), p. 376. Flemming introduces the word first in the compound Karyomitosis as a replacement for Karyokinesis to denote specifically "the metamorphosis of threads in the nucleus" ("Fadenmetamorphose im Kern"). In following sentences he uses the truncated form in the plural Mitosen for mitotic figures ("Kerntheilungsfiguren," i.e, the spindle-shaped figures presented by the chromosomes during mitosis) and in the singular Mitosis for the process of division.

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mitosis

noun

mi·​to·​sis mī-ˈtō-səs 

plural mitoses -ˈtō-ˌsēz 

1

: a process that takes place in the nucleus of a dividing cell and that results in the formation of two new nuclei with the same number of chromosomes as the parent nucleus compare meiosis

2

: a cell division in which mitosis occurs

mitotic

-ˈtät-ik 

adjective

Medical Definition

mitosis

noun

mi·​to·​sis mī-ˈtō-səs 

plural mitoses -ˌsēz 

1

: a process that takes place in the nucleus of a dividing cell, involves typically a series of steps consisting of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, and results in the formation of two new nuclei each having the same number of chromosomes as the parent nucleus compare meiosis

2

: cell division in which mitosis occurs

mitotic

-ˈtät-ik 

adjective

mitotically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb