gamete

1 of 2

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
gə-ˈme-tik How to pronounce gamete (audio) -ˈmē- How to pronounce gamete (audio)
adjective
gametically
gə-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce gamete (audio)
-ˈmē-
adverb

gametic

2 of 2

adjective

ga·​met·​ic gəˈmetik How to pronounce gametic (audio)
ˈgaˌm-
: of, relating to, being, or derived from a gamete
gametically
-tə̇k(ə)lē How to pronounce gametic (audio)
-li
adverb

Examples of gamete in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
In Darwin’s day, of course, the processes by which gametes are formed and then fused had yet to be discovered. — Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Females produce large gametes and our bodies are organized around gestation and birth; males have small gametes and their bodies are organized around impregnating. — Paisley Currah, The New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2025 Hormones take the child’s body at puberty and conjure from it the adult form, directing the ovaries to mature their eggs or the testicles to produce sperm, each of these gametes containing the potential to create new life. — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 This process begins with the day’s first light, when photoreceptive proteins called opsins in the gonads detect sunlight, triggering production of a hormone that matures developing gametes. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gamete

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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.

Adjective

gamet- + -ic

First Known Use

Noun

1878, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gamete was in 1878

Phrases Containing gamete

Browse Nearby Words

gametangium
gamete
gamete intrafallopian transfer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gamete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamete. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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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
gə-ˈmet-ik How to pronounce gamete (audio) -ˈmēt- How to pronounce gamete (audio)
adjective
gametically
-i-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce gamete (audio)
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on gamete

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gamete

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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