noun
a spermatozoon or an ovum; a cell responsible for transmitting DNA to the next generation
• Syn: ↑reproductive cell, ↑sex cell
• Hypernyms: ↑cell
• Hyponyms: ↑gamete
• Part Holonyms: ↑reproductive system, ↑genital system
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noun : a cell set apart from the rest of the body to develop usually after union with another of the opposite sex into a new individual : an egg or sperm cell or one of their antecedent cells — distinguished from somatic cell
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Biol.
the sexual reproductive cell at any stage from the primordial cell to the mature gamete.
[1850-55]
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germ cell noun
A gamete, a sperm or ovum, or a cell from which it springs
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Main Entry: ↑germ
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germ cell,
1. a cell that can produce a new individual, usually after union with another cell of the opposite sex; egg or sperm cell; gamete.
2. a primitive cell from which an egg or sperm cell develops.
3. a fertilized ovum or egg.
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n. Biology a cell containing half the number of chromosomes of a somatic cell and able to unite with one from the opposite sex to form a new individual; a gamete
■ an embryonic cell with the potential of developing into a gamete
Useful english dictionary. 2012.