gamete

noun

gam·​ete ˈga-ˌmēt How to pronounce gamete (audio)
also
gə-ˈmēt How to pronounce gamete (audio)
: a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploid chromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex
gametic adjective
gametically adverb

Examples of gamete in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web On the other hand, some donors update gamete providers on their health status but later learn that recipient families were never contacted, according to Rupnow. Katie Camero, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2024 At the time of ovulation, estrogens increase the motility of the oviduct on the left side which results in a negative pressure in the tube and oocyte and sperms are picked-up into the tube with the help of this vacuum effect, taking both gametes to the fertilization site in the oviduct. Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019 Early plants, for example, still needed to let their gametes swim to each other in standing water. Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 If Fisch’s data are any indication, New York men produce more of the wiggly gametes than most. Mary Roach, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 The law anticipated regulations around surrogacy and gamete donation, but nothing is said about regulating intermediaries like agencies—presumably because there weren’t supposed to be any. Hazlitt, 30 Aug. 2023 But not all gametes are the same; for reasons that still remain somewhat of a mystery, one parent donates a much larger gamete, the egg, while the other donates only essential genetic material in the form of sperm. Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2015 DuBose also sponsored a bill that would have put specific gender definitions in state law, based on the presence of gametes. Alander Rocha, al, 6 June 2023 Gametes and gamete production physiology, by themselves, are only a part of the entirety of human lives. Agustín Fuentes, Scientific American, 1 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gamete.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Gamet, borrowed from Greek gamétēs "husband" or gametḗ "wife," from game-, stem of gameîn "to marry" + -tēs, -tē, agent suffixes — more at -gamous

Note: Gamet was introduced by the Polish-German biologist Eduard Strasburger (1844-1912) in an article cowritten with the botanist Anton de Bary, "Acetabularia mediterranea" (Botanische Zeitung, 35. Jahrgang, No. 47, 23. November 1877), pp. 745-56.

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gamete was in 1878

Cite this Entry

“Gamete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamete. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gamete

noun
ga·​mete
gə-ˈmēt,
ˈgam-ˌēt
: a mature sex cell that usually has half of the normal number of chromosomes and is capable of uniting with a gamete of the opposite sex to begin the formation of a new individual
gametic
gə-ˈmet-ik
adjective
gametically
-ˈmet-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb

Medical Definition

gamete

noun
ga·​mete
ˈgam-ˌēt also gə-ˈmēt
: a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploid chromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex

called also sex cell

gametic adjective
gametically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on gamete

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