/ 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:
Classified under:
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)