Library / English Dictionary

ZYGOTE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(genetics) the diploid cell resulting from the union of a haploid spermatozoon and ovum (including the organism that develops from that cell)

Synonyms:

fertilized ovum; zygote

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("zygote" is a kind of...):

cell ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals)

Domain category:

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

genetic science; genetics (the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "zygote"):

heterozygote ((genetics) an organism having two different alleles of a particular gene and so giving rise to varying offspring)

homozygote ((genetics) an organism having two identical alleles of a particular gene and so breeding true for the particular characteristic)

Derivation:

zygotic (of or relating to a zygote)

Credits