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

Perhaps her past has undergone enough mitosis to morph into future originality. —Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025

In the final act of cellular mitosis, the yolk splits, foreshadowing themes of corporeal replication, fragmentation, and destruction. —Viv Chen, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2024

When a cell, comprising 46 chromosomes, splits into two cells, this is called mitosis. —Krissi Danielsson, Parents, 30 July 2024

Typical cell division happens by either mitosis or meiosis. —Krissi Danielsson, Parents, 30 July 2024

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

Rhymes for mitosis

• cirrhosis
• fibrosis
• gliosis
• hypnosis
• ichthyosis
• ketosis
• kurtosis
• lordosis
• meiosis
• miosis
• mycosis
• narcosis

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